Dark as Night
by Serafina Claremond
Summary: Coming to Beacon Hills because a dead girl told me to in my dreams was one thing, but I just had to get involved in the life she left behind. That was crazy, even for someone who talks to the dead. But things were quiet, too quiet. Until Isaac Lahey came back from Europe, more dead people showed up, and a war between the spirits broke out. Senior year should be fun. Isaac/OC/Stiles
1. Welcome Back

_ There she was, as usual. Dark hair, red lips. She smiled at me and said, "Hey you."_

_ "Hey yourself," I said. She laughed._

_ "You've been great, Veronica, but something's about to happen, and promise you'll take care of them all for me?"_

_ "Of course, Allison."_

_ "But especially Isaac."_

_ "Isaac? He hasn't been in Beacon Hills since they trapped the nogitsune."_

_ She ran her fingers through her hair. "Something's brewing and he'll be back."_

_ "What's brewing exactly?"_

_ "V, Beacon Hills has been quiet for too long. No attacks, no new supernatural creatures. There's gonna be a war that you will be the center of."_

_ "Me? The human girl who has dreams about a dead girl?"_

Before she answered, I woke up. My eyes scanned the still-foreign bedroom walls, trying to adjust to reality. I picked up the pen and notebook on the nightstand and wrote, like I did on most mornings, about Allison Argent. Even though I never met her when she was alive, I dreamt about her. Every single night. Or was it a twisted form of communication? It was something. Hard to explain. But the nightly talks with Allison started after a chance encounter with a boy in the woods and she convinced me to come to Beacon Hills. And because I had nothing tying me down, I drove my 1971 light blue Corolla to a city where the supernatural was rampant. I went to the local high school and, thanks to their shoddy administration, enrolled without any previous school documents. And every night while I slept in my car, Allison entered my dreams and we talked. About her previous life.

Despite coming because she told me to, I didn't plan on making a life in Beacon Hills. I only wanted to learn more about supernatural creatures - and myself by extension - and the life Allison left behind. It was so unlike mine. But of course, Kira Yukimura, the new girl at BHHS before me and Malia Tate, befriended me in hopes of making the transition easier for me than it was for her. Then she learned I was living out of my car and before I wrapped my head around anything, I was sleeping in the Yukimura's guest room. Then I was spending all my time with Kira, her boyfriend Scott McCall, Stiles Stilinski, the genius Lydia Martin, and Stiles's ex-girlfriend Malia Tate.

I finished writing about my chat with Allison and her cryptic warning and rolled out of bed to get ready for school. It didn't take much time, since I barely used makeup and had already planned my outfit the night before. When I went downstairs for breakfast, there was already a bagel waiting for me, toasted and buttered.

"Thank you, Ms. Yukumura." Kira's mom continued to cook a hearty breakfast for herself, since Kira, Mr. Yukimura, and I would be leaving soon. Her husband entered the kitchen and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He looked at me and said, "Good morning, Veronica. Are you taking Kira to school today?"

On cue, his daughter came bounding down the stairs, grabbed a bagel, and chimed, "She is! Love you!"

We grabbed our bags and hopped in my car. The drive to school was short and Kira didn't stop smiling the entire way. As I parked the car, I deadpanned, "Someone's excited."

"What? Oh. Today's the first day of our senior year!" She pulled down the visor and spot-checked her hair to make sure it didn't get mussed up from leaning back into the headrest.

"I know, Kira. And it'll probably be like every other day." She mock-slapped me across the shoulder. "Stop being such a downer, V. This is gonna be good. Even Scott thinks so!"

If the werewolf thought it was going to be an exciting, yet supernaturally uneventful year, then he was probably right. But I couldn't say that. None of them knew what I knew or that I even knew what Allison was like. So instead, I rolled my eyes and said, "Yes, because you two are the cutest power couple at Beacon Hills."

"You know, you might get a boyfriend this year," she said, singsongy.

"Oh really?" I retorted, pursing my lips. "The only guys I spend my time with are your boyfriend and Stiles."

"Well, what's wrong with Stiles?"

"Other than his weird history with Malia and the sexual tension between him and Lydia? Yeah, no thanks." Someone rapped on the passenger side window. "Oh look who it is."

I opened the car door and half-shouted, "Did you really have to touch the window, Stiles?"

"Yeah, you know that." He had slight bed-head, but his eyes were smiling at me and his best friend's girl. "Good morning, ladies."

Scott walked over to the car from his motorcycle and put his arm around Kira, pushing a kiss to her temple. "Hey, sweetie. Hi, V."

"I'll see you lovebirds in homeroom. Come on, Stiles," I said, wrapping my hand around Stiles's wrist. Kira shouted behind us, "We'll save you seats!"

Stiles and I walked across campus - well, it was more like dragging him - like we did every morning until we reached my locker. I asked, "How's your morning going?"

"Great, just great. Today feels good," he said, nodding his head while he spoke. Stiles was a lot more hyperactive now than he was when I first met him. Allison mentioned it was probably an after effect of the nogitsune possessing him.

"I'm glad," I said, making sure my eyes didn't waver towards his lips. "You definitely look more like yourself."

He closed my locker for me and leaned towards me. "What you do you mean by that?"

Shit shit. If anything, I wanted to tell him I knew. So I could pull him into a well-deserved hug and let him know I was here for him. But I didn't. "I just meant that junior was so hard for everyone with SATs and college prep. We all looked so stressed out with bags and stuff. But today is the first day of senior year and you look relaxed, but energized. Happy."

At the mention of junior year, he shook his head slightly, probably thinking about the nogitsune. But then Stiles bounced back and flashed his charming boyish grin. For a second, I was grateful he wasn't a werewolf. "Thanks, V."

We walked to the office to pick up and compare our senior year schedules before heading towards homeroom. As seniors, we all chose Mr. Yukimura for our homeroom teacher, much to Kira's dismay. When Stiles and I got there, Lydia and Malia already saved us a cluster of seats. Stiles sat behind the strawberry blond and I took the seat behind him.

"Good morning you two."

Lydia smiled. "It's actually a pretty good morning, given the circumstances. Stiles, you can't stand to do your hair in the morning?"

Before he could argue back, Scott took the aisle seat next to Stiles with Kira planting herself next to me. "Oh we're all sitting together! This is exciting."

Malia smiled. "It is. It'll be a great year."

I groaned. My friends all shot me a look and I said, "You guys keep saying that."

"V doesn't believe me but after the quiet summer we've had, senior year will be a blast," Kira explained.

"Please tell me how it will be a quote blast unquote?"

"We're gonna get into college, you're gonna find a boyfriend, and there won't be any su—"

Lydia cut her off. "Sucky parties. Senior parties are the best. I remember that from when Jackson was still around."

I knew Kira was going to mention supernatural activity and I almost wanted her too. It was getting a little exhausting pretending I didn't know anything about anything. But it wasn't necessary for them to know yet. Before anyone else spoke, Mr. Yukimura walked in, wearing a blue button down and black dress pants. He said, "Good morning. I will be your homeroom teacher every day for 20 minutes. You're all seniors so my only request is that you speak softly during the morning announcements. Alright, carry on."

Before I turned to Kira to talk more about her brilliant boyfriend plan, a guy in a leather jacket walked in. It was —

"Isaac Lahey," Scott shouted across the room, prompting Mr. Yukimura to shush him. "How've you been, man?"

The boy - whose eyes were as every bit as smoldering as Allison said - walked to us and smiled. "It's been good. I spent the last half of junior year and all summer in France with Argent."

He hugged everyone in quick succession, slowing down at Lydia. When they pulled apart, she smiled meekly and said, "We heard. How is he, by the way?"

"A lot better. We came back though because he said someone needed his help here," Isaac said. But before he could continue about something that was most likely supernatural related, his eyes met mine. "Who is this?"

I extended my hand. "Veronica. But they all call me V."

"Nice to meet you."

Malia piped up. "V and I started second semester together. A few days after you left."

"Right," he said before lowering his voice, "are you part of the pack?"

Out of the corner of my eye, Scott's arms tensed up. This was my chance to tell them everything I knew about them. And Danny. But again, I bit my tongue and played dumb. I laughed. "'The Pack'? That's what you guys secretly call yourself?"

"Ha ha ha, yeah. It's so stupid. Right, Isaac?" Stiles said, nervously smiling. Isaac nodded, playing along, and took the seat on my other side.

"Stupid." His eyes stayed with mine as he whispered, "It's nice to meet you though. Welcome to Beacon Hills."

* * *

Classes went by quickly and soon the first day of senior year was over. Throughout the day, I noticed the boys speaking in hushed voices, and clamming up whenever I came by. I couldn't blame them: Isaac was probably curious if I knew anything about the supernatural. Scott and Stiles would claim I didn't because that's how I wanted it to be. But if Allison was right and something big was about to happen, I needed to tell them sooner than later. Especially if it was really bad. I couldn't risk them thinking I was the enemy.

After going to my locker, I met up with Kira and Lydia to watch the boys' first lacrosse practice before I left for work at the vet's office. Scott had pulled serious strings with Deaton to let me work for him. Malia was at her after-school therapy - which I knew were lessons with Peter Hale. Once we got to the field, I noticed the boys huddling together away from the rest of the team. They still had a few minutes before practice started. The three of us walked up to them and I heard Isaac say, "Are you sure she doesn't know?"

Stiles groaned. "You keep asking and I'm going to tell you the same thing. She doesn't know. I know her well enough to know that she is not on the supernatural chessboard."

I tapped him on the shoulder and joked, "You boys really need to stop gossiping about me. It's a bad habit."

Stiles threw his hands up. "Whoa. Guys. We didn't see you there."

The girls avoided making eye contact with me but Isaac again refused to pull his away. I said, "I might as well tell you."

"Tell us what?" Scott asked.

"I know," I whispered. Kira's eyes widened. "You know what?"

I counted them off. "Scott and Isaac are werewolves. You're a fox spirit. Lydia's a banshee. Malia's a werecoyote."

Kira smiled at me but Lydia, she looked a little angry. "How long have you know?"

"As soon as I met you."

"How?" Scott asked.

"Like it's hard. I mean, come on. Danny knows." I sighed, but then I remembered —

Lydia gasped. "Danny knows?"

Shit. I tried anything. "You don't know that Danny has always known because Ethan left before he told you guys." I mentally smacked myself again.

Lydia said, "Ethan? As in Aiden's brother?"

"Right, because I never met Ethan since he left before I got here. You know what? Stiles was right, I don't know anything."

Scott demanded, "Explain."

But then Coach Finstock blew his whistle and yelled at us to get off the field. "I will tell you everything after practice."

Scott shouted to Coach, "Can we have a couple minutes please? Lahey is back!"

"Fine, McCall. 3 minutes!" Noting my confused face, Scott said, "Coach is happy the two of us are back playing and Stiles has gotten better. You have three minutes."

"I've had this weird connection with the supernatural. Whenever I met someone who wasn't just human, I would get a feeling. And if my hands ever came into contact with them, I would know what they were."

"But how did you know I was a werewolf, you just met me," Isaac asked.

"I've started to notice the subtle differences of how I feel around the different creatures."

Stiles was putting everything together in his head and as he opened his mouth, Lydia cut him off, asking, "But what does that have to do with Ethan or Danny?"

"Honestly, Danny and I talked about it before. It wasn't hard to notice he knew, how carefully he acted when he was around y'all. So I mentioned it and he said none of you guys knew that he knew, except Ethan."

Scott gave me a wary look, clearly in alpha protector mode. "How are we supposed to trust you, Veronica?"

"The entire time I've known you, I haven't told anyone or done anything to put you in danger," I replied, holding his gaze. Kira nudged me with her elbow and said, "I still trust her. She's right, we have no reason to believe she's a threat to us."

Nodding in agreement, Lydia supplied, "She's our friend, McCall." Scott seemed to accept this, but still looked at his best friend and Isaac for further advice.

"Look, I barely know her," the latter said, holding his hands up in defense. But then his eyes briefly moved down my body before meeting his alpha's again. "But she doesn't seem harmful."

Stiles reached over to put his arm around me. He looked down at me and smiled. "Of course, I trust you, V."

"Okay then. If my pack trusts you, so do I," Scott said.


	2. Keep Me Close

_Allison flipped her hair. "I told you Isaac would be back. What do you think of him?" _

_ "He's a bit snarly," I replied. "But very loyal." _

_ "He is. Especially when it comes to Scott. You should've been there when he kept wanting to tell him about what happened with the Oni, constantly insisting that only I promised my dad to keep my mouth shut for a day." _

_ "Yeah, but I like it." _

_ "The loyalty or Isaac?" _

_ I rolled my eyes at her. "He seems like a good guy, Allison." _

_ "Is he doing okay?" She folded her hands in her lap. _

_ "He'll probably never get over you," I said, sighing. "But he seems like he got through it with your dad." _

_ "My dad?" _

_ "Yeah, they went to France together. Couldn't stand being in Beacon Hills after you died." _

_ "That's good. I'm glad they had each other." The corners of her mouth raised. "I'm glad I have you too. To protect them." _

_ "I'll do my best." _

_ "Especially Isaac He's lost so many people already." _

_ "I know. I will." _

_ She smiled again, this time it reached her eyes. "Be careful with him though. You might fall in love with him. God knows I almost did." _

* * *

About a week later, I was on my way to watch lacrosse practice with Kira when Isaac, already in practice gear and all, slid into step next to me and said, "Hey, Veronica."

"Hi, Isaac. What's up?" I greeted, trying not to be suspicious, and stopped to brush some hair out my face.

"I, uh," he said with his hand on the back of his neck, "was wondering if you wanted to partner up for the economics project?"

On instinct, I raised an eyebrow. In the last week or so, Isaac and I barely had a full conversation and yet he wanted to work with me. "Me and you?"

"You're the only one from the pack in our class." Of course I was the default choice, but I didn't really expect a different answer from him. He was loyal. "It's a semester project and we can use it to get to know each other a lot better."

Crossing my arms, I corrected him. "You mean 'keep an eye on me.'"

Isaac scrunched his nose a little and said, "Okay fine. But Scott is my alpha; I need to protect him from danger. Which can come in all forms, especially pretty girls."

My heart picked up speed at the compliment; my mind knew it was just to flatter me and coerce me into agreeing. I rolled my eyes, asking, "I'm pretty now?"

"Well. Yeah." Isaac shrugged. He was a boyish and I saw the charm most girls at our school did. Once you got past his broody demeanor, he was sweet and genuine. Damn, it was working.

"Okay. I'm sure you're trying to butter me up right now, and it's working. We can be partners."

"Really? Cool."

"Yeah, Isaac. You can come over after practice to start?"

"Sounds like a plan, see you then," he said and started to take a few steps to the door. I looked at him, frozen for a second, wondering if I should tell him I'd be at practice or just follow him, which could be misconstrued as creepy. I decided on the former, took a couple steps, and touched his elbow.

"I always stay for practice on Fridays with Kira since I don't have work and she needs a ride. I'll walk with ya."

He smiled and said, "Yeah, Scott mentioned you work with Dr. Deaton. You like it?

"It's alright. Money is good," I joked.

Isaac nodded in agreement. "What do you guys do at practice?"

"Rate how hot the guys are." The werewolf raised an eyebrow. I laughed and said, "I'm just kidding. We do homework and cheer you boys on."

"Got it. You coming to the game tomorrow night or do you have work?"

"Of course I'm coming. Lacrosse isn't just a sport at Beacon Hills, it's a way of life."

He laughed. "Ha ha. You're hilarious. I'll be sure to make a couple goals for you."

"Oh really? That would be swell." We continued walking together to the field. I knew that a lot of this - the smiling, the deadpanned jokes - was to make sure I wouldn't hurt Scott, or anyone else in the pack. Allison clued me in that many times a new student came, they, or their family, were the center of supernatural disasters. I knew all this, that I had the potential to be a danger, but still, this feeling of talking to Isaac - the easiness of it all - I liked it. I wanted a connection like Stiles and Scott, or even Lydia and Stiles. They had physical and emotional bonds I didn't come close to understanding. Yeah, I had Allison, but only when I was asleep, and sometimes I needed someone physical, not only their essence. And this breezy, relaxed conversation I was having with Isaac seemed to be a glimpse of those kinds of connections.

"ISAAC! Get your butt on the field," Coach Finstock screamed.

"I gotta go, but I'll get to the Yukimura's after I clean up."

I hesitated. "Hey, are you sure you wanna come over tonight? It is Friday after all."

"Why? Got a hot date?" He retorted.

"No, but maybe you do."

"I'll see you tonight, V." Isaac chuckled and walked away, leaving me dumbfounded that he finally called me by my nickname. I almost moved away, ready for the bleachers, when a boy's voice asked, "Did Isaac call you 'V'?"

I spun around. "Stiles! Shouldn't you be on the field?"

"I will be, I just wanted to make sure you and Isaac were okay."

"Should I be afraid of him?"

"Uh," he said. "No of course not. I was —"

Biting lip in nervous hopes I didn't do anything wrong by being friendly with Isaac, I asked, "Yeah, Stiles?"

"Nothing, I'll see you later." He ran out to the field, instantly giving Coach some excuse why he was late. Kira was sitting in the bleachers and shouted, "Come on, V! We have work to do."

I half-jogged up and sat. She asked, "What did the boys want with you?"

"Well, Isaac and I partnered up for the semester economics project and Stiles was curious about why Isaac and I were getting chummy."

"Sounds like he's jealous."

"What?"

"Stiles is jealous that you and Isaac are _bonding_."

"Kira. Be serious. There is no reason for Stiles to get jealous. Because one, Stiles does not like me and two, there's nothing happening between me and Isaac. We're just working together tonight."

"He's coming over tonight?"

"Yeah, after practice. Your parents will be okay with that, right?"

She smirked. "They won't be home the entire weekend. Mom's got a family meeting back in Japan."

"Family meeting?"

"Something kitsune related, I'm sure. But the point is, you and Isaac have my house all night to yourselves."

Wait. "Where are you gonna be?"

"Scott and I have anniversary plans." She blushed.

"You guys are gonna have sex?! Kira!"

"I know it's a big deal, but we've dated for enough time and I trust him."

"Good."

"That's it? No lecture on waiting?"

"Of course not. It's your decision and you trust him. That's important. Besides, it's Scott. I've seen the way he looks at you: he adores you and he'll take great care of you."

"You make it sound like we're getting married. But I know what you mean. Thanks for the support. But you and Isaac better be careful."

"Kira!"

"I kid I kid."

"Okay, good."

"Besides, you already have Stiles."

Stiles was running up and down the field with a little more control than I was told he used to play. Must've been an after effect of the nogitsune. "I do not have Stiles. Or Isaac. I don't want to get involved in such complicated matters."

"Complicated how?"

"I'm friends with Lydia and even though I'm not close to Malia, it just feels weird, knowing Stiles kissed them both. And more." My eyes were trained on the team, running drills. Isaac must've felt me staring, because he turned and winked. I shook my head, laughing.

Kira said, "I get it. I used to feel that way with Allison."

_Allison. _She told me once that she felt weird around Kira, seeing her with Scott and the way Scott would look at her. I couldn't tell her that, but I tried something close to it and said, "She probably felt like that too."

"I don't know. Allison was so strong and she kicked ass, all while looking fantastic," she said, a small smile on her face. Kira sighed. "I miss her."

"I wish I'd gotten to know her."

"You guys would've gotten along so great." I laughed lightly. If only she knew.

* * *

Kira was already gone for the night and I lounged on the couch, waiting for Isaac to arrive. The doorbell rang and without checking through the peephole, I swung the door open and said, "Hey there, Lahey."

He gave me an up-down. "I'm going by 'Lahey' now?"

"I like it." I shrugged.

"I can't argue with that," he said, entering and closing the door behind him, "but don't you know you're supposed to ask who's at the door before opening it?"

"Well, I knew it was you."

"How?"

I shrugged again, dropping myself onto the couch. "I assumed it was you."

Sitting next to me, Isaac cocked his head to the side. "So not a supernatural assumption. Don't you know about stranger danger?"

"But you're not dangerous. You're a cute werepuppy," I said, reaching over to pinch his cheeks. As if I was talking to a baby, I cooed, "Yes you are."

"Hey!" He placed his hands on my shoulder to shove me, but stopped himself and asked, "Wait, cute?"

Shit. Slip of the tongue. "I, uh. Yeah, cute."

Isaac kept looking at me, a smile growing on his face. My heart responded and I hoped that his werewolf hearing wouldn't pick up on it. Or that he would have the decency to ignore it. I looked down at the table and said, "We should get to work. We're behind, since we have to find all these different income statements and the interest rates for those time periods."

He pulled out his laptop and started to look for what I mentioned. After several minutes, I groaned. Without looking back up, he asked, "What?"

As I scribbled numbers into my notebook, I said, "I didn't realize how much work there would be. It's making me…frustrated."

"Sexually?"

"Lame. You can't reuse jokes," I retorted.

"What?"

Without thinking, I said, "You said that to Allison at the rave."

His head snapped up. "How do you know about that?"

"Hm?" Shit shit shit. Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut?

"That conversation with Allison. No one else from the pack - or Danny - was with us. How do you know about that?"

"Um. Oh," I tried to look for an excuse. "I was there at the party. In the background. I overheard it."

Isaac shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "You're a bad liar."

"I, uhm." Was I supposed to tell him everything now? Shit.

He stood up. "Veronica—"

My cell phone started ringing. I glanced at it and saw Stiles's goofy face on the screen.

"I need to get that," I said, grateful for the interruption. "Hello?"

Stiles blurted, "V, where are you?"

"Stilinski, are you okay?"

"Uh. Yeah. I'm not sure. Where are you?"

"Home, I mean Kira's."

"Are you with her right now?"

"No, Stiles. She's with Scott remember?" I said. I glanced at Isaac. "But Lahey's here."

"Isaac? What are you two - never mind. Bring him to Derek's ASAP."

He hung up on me and Isaac asked, "What's going on?"

"We need to go to Derek's loft, Stiles needs us." I grabbed my keys and a jacket, worried and confused. This could've been a supernatural problem, one that I wasn't equipped to handle. My hand shook as it wrapped around the door handle. Isaac placed his over mine and whispered, "Don't worry. It's gonna be okay."

I nodded as he slipped the keys out of my other hand. "But don't think I'm gonna forget about this Allison conversation."

Damn.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hey hey! Not much to be said here, but I hope you're enjoying the story so far. ^.^ Please take the time to leave a review! All comments and concerns are welcome. :)


	3. Confessions

"Stiles? You there?" We walked into the loft, no sign of Derek anywhere.

"We're right here," said a man I could only assume to be Peter Hale. Stiles sat next to him, legs apart and elbows propped on knees.

Isaac asked, "What's going on?"

"Have either of you seen or spoken to Derek?"

"Not since I got back, no." All three boys looked at me.

Stiles said, "Look, V, if you have, we won't hold it against you. It won't be like strike two or something."

Peter stood. "What would be strike one?"

"I didn't tell the pack I knew what they were. But no, I've never met Derek before," I said. He eyed me a little bit, probably determining if he should believe me. I wouldn't blame him if he didn't.

"Then we have a problem. Derek's been missing since we trapped the nogitsune."

"You're telling me that since I left to Europe, no one noticed that Derek's disappeared?" Isaac asked. "That's ridiculous."

Derek's uncle shook his head. "I honestly thought he went to go check on Cora for awhile. Things here seemed to have died down, and it made sense. But he's been gone for too long and I called Cora, who hasn't heard from him. I don't know."

Stiles lightly patted Peter on the back, before quickly regretting it and stuffing it back into his pocket. "Don't worry, man. I swear we'll find him. I'll tell Scott tomorrow."

Peter nodded and headed off into some dark corner in the loft to mostly like sulk. Stiles looked from Isaac to me. "What were you guys doing together?"

It sounded slightly accusatory, but I answered anyway. "We're partners for the econ project."

He nodded. "Where was Kira?"

"With Scott. They had 'special' plans tonight, Stiles."

He smacked himself in the forehead. "I completely forgot. I called him like 10 times. Damn."

"They're having sex tonight?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah, but it's not our business. Come on, Lahey, let's go back to my place," I commented. He jingled the keys and headed towards the door of the loft. "Stiles, I'll see ya at the game tomorrow night?"

Instead of answering me, he said, "Are you sure you should be spending more time with him? Alone in the house?"

"What are you talking about?" We walked outside, the sun had sunk beneath the sky and the moon had already started its shift. Stiles pulled me towards his jeep.

"I care about you, V. I just want to make sure you're safe."

"I'll be fine. I've got a big werepuppy taking of me."

"Okay, but —"

"Yes?"

"It's nothing. See ya tomorrow night. I expect posters." Stiles pulled me in for a quick hug, my head perfectly meeting the crook of his neck.

I smiled up at him, stepped backwards a couple steps, and said, "You'll get your posters."

We got into the car and as we sat there in silence, my nerves started firing up. Would he want to talk in the car or at the Yukimuras'? I wasn't prepared for any of this. As he drove, taking his time, he remained completely silent. I kept his face in my line vision, completely worried and confused and torn up about everything that had happened and what was about to. My legs were pressed together and I sat against the passenger door, careful not to make any sudden movements that would cause Isaac to start speaking.

But he did anyway. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," I said, a half shrug slipping out. "I'm not entirely sure what to make of this."

"Don't worry. Stiles and I will get in touch with Scott and Lydia in the morning and figure out a game plan."

"But what if Scott thinks I did something to Derek? According to Peter and Stiles, Derek's been gone since I got to town."

"V, no one will believe that you could do something to Derek. You're tiny with no supernatural talents other than picking up on other supernatural creatures."

Oh, but there was so much more to it than that. I had dreams about dead girls and there was that thing that happened before I got to Beacon Hills. I wanted to tell him everything. Everything that I stored away in secrecy. How could I?

It didn't matter now since Isaac sensed my hesitation. "What are you thinking?"

"I-I- A lot of things."

"Like what?"

"Strikes two through one hundred."

He parked the car in the driveway. "Do you wanna tell me inside?"

I nodded. We walked into the house and I led him to the guest room, my room. He sat down on the corner of my bed and I closed the door, leaning against it. "First of all, I was telling the truth when I said I knew nothing about Derek. But I haven't told you guys everything. And I don't really know where to start."

"Why don't we start with Allison. How did you know?"

With my eyes closed, I said, "She told me. In my dreams. Uhm, I dream about her every night, without fail, and we talk. About Beacon Hills, about Lydia. But they're real, I know they are. It's not a hallucination. She's real. Sometimes she shows me her memories, like the rave before the Oni showed up."

Isaac nodded along, accepting this. "Okay, when did the dreams start?"

"Do you believe me already?"

"I'm a werewolf," he answered, smirking.

"Good point. The dreams started the night before I drove into town."

"But there has to be a connection, doesn't there? Were you drawn to Beacon Hills by the Nemeton?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I lied when I told you that Danny told me Ethan knew. The truth is, I met Ethan."

"What? How?"

"It was a full moon and I was driving through the state. It was the day I got my car and I wanted to come up to Northern California to find a women's shelter."

"A women's shelter?"

I started pacing up and down the room, my hand lightly tracing the wall. "I have no family. My parents gave me up for adoption, which never happened, so I got tossed around the system for awhile. Then I started living in shelters and working at fast food joints. Until I got my car. I was parked at a rest stop really close to the woods when I ran into a guy. And remember that thing where if I touch someone, I can see what they are? Well, when I touched him, I saw his brother dying.

That wasn't even the first time but I had been out of physical contact with people for awhile that I was so stunned all I could say was 'I'm so sorry about Aiden.' And he looked at me in awe and I explained everything to him. In turn, um, he told me about Beacon Hills and, um, said that you guys might be able to help me."

"And the dreams started that night?"

"Yeah. Allison showed up and she convinced me that everything I needed to know learn about myself would be in Beacon Hills. She educated me about Scott and Lydia. On my first day of school, I decided to lay low, especially when I noticed that Scott was down a few werewolves. Afterwards, I realized no one could help me and I was gonna disappear until Kira tried to be my friend."

He clasped his hands together quietly. Then let go and ran one through his hair. "Uh. What did you need help with?"

"I wanted to figure out _what_ I was. Why I dreamt and talked to dead people. Why I can do what I do."

"You still haven't, have you?"

"Not at all. I gave up."

"Why?"

I sat down next to him. "I don't care anymore. I haven't developed any new powers and I haven't —"

"You haven't what?"

"One night, a couple years ago, I woke up to myself sleepwalking. I was sitting next to a dying body, holding his hand. Comforting him or something. I don't know. It's never happened again and I didn't sense him dying while I was awake, so I can't be a banshee."

"Right, right." He put an arm around me, loosely.

When I looked up at him, I realized our faces were only inches apart. My heart, of course, responded. "Are you mad?"

"No, V. You had every right to keep this from the pack. We all pretend we're okay, but none of us will ever get over her. But now I know and I have to tell Scott."

I nodded. "I understand. I want to be there though."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." I thought about Derek, but Isaac read my mind and said, "I will make sure that Scott does not do anything to hurt you to find out information about Derek. It wouldn't make sense for you to hurt Derek."

"Thanks, Lahey. It means a lot to me."

"You're part of the pack now. And besides, I think we're friends now."

"We are. I hope." He stood, pulling me up with him and hugged me. Isaac was warm and our height difference was perfect enough that he could rest his chin on my head. He laughed lightly, his body shaking, and I couldn't help but look up at him and smile.

I yawned. He laughed again and said, "I guess I better go. Will you be safe here?"

"I should be okay," I said. Isaac reached for the doorknob. "Out of curiosity, Where do you stay?"

"Sometimes Scott's, Lydia's when I can't really be around him. Why?"

"I wanted to know. Extend an invitation to this house if you ever needed it."

He shot me a look. "Are you scared about staying here alone?"

"Maybe. I haven't been alone in a house, especially one in a town notorious for supernatural disasters," I said, my eyes trained to the floor.

"I can sleep with you tonight," Isaac responded. I shot him a look and he raised his hands in defense. "I'm not trying to be suggestive or anything."

"I know. Get yourself comfrotable. I'm gonna go change." I went to the bathroom, slipped into my pajamas, and took deep breaths before heading back to the room. Things with Isaac were easy; it was easy to tell him all of my secrets. And he seemed okay talking to me about Allison and Scott and it looked like he truly cared about me. Maybe I had found that one person who just understood me.

I exhaled and walked back into my room to see Isaac's jeans and jacket neatly folded on the floor and him sprawled across the bed. He was already out. I crawled in next to him, careful not to touch him at all, which was easy since it was a queen-size, and fell asleep within minutes.

For the first time in eight months, I didn't dream about Allison.

_ I couldn't find her. She wasn't walking towards me or sitting, patiently waiting, at our spot in the woods. Allison was no where. I called out, "Allison? Are you here?" _

_ No response. Barely crickets. A fog, thicker than normal, rolled over through our area in the woods, and soon a woman I almost recognized appeared. She didn't look at me or make any acknowledgment of my presence. I almost said something, but then her face started to turn, but not into a werewolf. She turned blue and canines that resembled coyotes' more than wolves' appeared in her mouth. The woman howled, and I started to scream. _


	4. Exiled

_ "It's okay if you tell them now. I promise." _

_"Allison—"_

_ "If it's what you need to do to get them to trust you. Do it. Soon."_

* * *

My wrists were red from scratching them while we waited for Stiles to arrive. Scott and Kira were studying me but Isaac stood protectively between us. Lydia sat on the stool, legs crossed and hair perfect.

She asked, "Okay, so why are we here?"

"We can't start without Stiles," Isaac said.

"What about Malia?"

I spoke up. "She hasn't been speaking to me lately, it's a little strange. But we told Stiles to bring her."

At that moment, he bumbled in, slamming the McCalls' front door in the process. "No Malia?" Isaac asked.

Stiles shook his head. "I couldn't convince her to come. But it's fine; she said to fill her in later."

"What exactly are we talking about? I thought things were fine."

I said, "Things are fine! I just needed to tell you guys something."

Isaac's hand gently rested on the small of my back. I looked up at him and he smiled encouragingly. "My connection with the supernatural doesn't end with me being able to know what you guys are. I can communicate with spirits."

"What?" Kira said. "Like dead people?"

"Exactly like dead people. It only happens in dreams as far as I know. And most of the time, it's with Allison."

Stiles immediately put his hand on Scott's shoulder. "Why are you telling us this now?"

"Because Allison told me not to tell you guys. She didn't want you to get stuck on her before you moved on."

Lydia pursed her lips. "And we're supposed to trust you that Allison told you this?"

Isaac jumped in and started talking for me. "V knows things about us that could have only come from Allison herself."

"Like what?" Scott whispered. Both he and Isaac visibly tensed up, the muscles in their arms tightening.

I thought back to anything Allison mentioned about her and Scott, alone. "When she broke up with you, she said 'there's no such thing as fate' and you said 'there's no such thing as werewolves.'"

His hand gripped the counter top. He growled. "You're out of the pack."

While Lydia nodded in agreement, Isaac protectively put his hand around my shoulders and said, "Scott, you can't mean that."

"I do. Leave." I nodded, not willing to fight back. I took a few steps toward the door - it felt like I was walking through water - and tears flooded my eyes. It was painful, suffocating. But I knew it was best. They could never trust me.

But then there was a hand on my back and another slipping my keys out of my own. Both Stiles and Isaac were next to me, guiding me out the door. I almost turned back to the rest of the pack, but the boys rushed me outside before I could. Stiles drove with Isaac in the front, and I sat, eyes closed, in the back. I could feel the car moving faster than I ever drove and pictured the trees whizzing by.

I felt the car stop but I didn't want to open my eyes yet. Someone lightly nudged my knee. "V, let's go inside."

Isaac opened the door for me and waited. I sighed and got out of the car to see we were at Stiles's. "Why are we here?"

"The three of us need to talk. And you might not be welcome at Kira's anymore." Because she was part of Scott's pack and I wasn't. But I still didn't understand why Scott's most loyal betas were with me, not against me. Stiles led us to his room; his walls were bare and there were stacks of books on his desk and the nightstand by the bed. He sat down, patting the area next to him. I obeyed. He looped an arm around me and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I guess. I'm mostly confused. What are you two doing?"

"Scott's upset, V. We're letting him cool off. But in the mean time, we need to watch over you."

"Is Scott that mad he'll attack me?" I felt my eyes widen. The boys exchanged looks.

"Whatever was happening while you were talking, our emotions were heightened. Scott got angry, I felt more tense."

"We came after you because he was in the process of turning. We needed to make sure you were okay," Stiles continued explaining. My body was shaking as I started to cry again. Stiles tightened his arm around me and I could've sworn I heard Isaac growl. I decided it was another incomprehensible noise I was making, but he sat down on the other side of me and said softly, "But don't worry. You're gonna stay with Stiles a few nights this week."

"Is your dad okay with that?"

"I'll talk to him," he said, smiling at me. "I also want to start researching what you might be. Lydia…she's on Scott's side about this, so she won't help yet."

"Understandably."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not exactly sure where to start, but we'll start tomorrow. You still coming to the game tonight?"

I nodded. "Of course, I gotta cheer my boys on."

We heard the front door open. "That must be my dad. I'll go talk to him."

Isaac and I watched Stiles run out the door to greet his dad. The werewolf next to me leaned back on the bad, tugging me along with him. He wrapped his arms around me and I let myself lean into him. More tears came out. Isaac then put his cheek against my forehead, and whispered, "It'll be okay. We'll figure out what exactly you are, Scott will calm down, and it'll be okay."

I fell asleep like that.

* * *

The crowd screamed its cheers as the boys' lacrosse team won its first game of the season, with Stiles making the winning shot. Coach Finstock was unsuccessfully stifling his joy and grinned wildly. Students ran out from the bleachers to congratulate their boys with hugs and kisses, including me. With my two posters, I went hunting for Isaac, but Stiles found me first.

I shouted, "Congratulations."

He hugged me tightly and swung me around a little, making me drop the posters. We laughed when he finally put me down, our eyes never breaking contact. Stiles leaned in, lips brushing my ear and shivers going down my spine, and said, "Thanks, V. I love the poster."

A smile broke out across my face, the most genuine one all day. "I'm glad. You did so great but now you better go talk to your groupies. You're the star player."

Stiles rolled his eyes at my comment and said, "Nah, that's still Scott. And I'd rather talk to you."

He reached out and brushed a few strands of hair out of my face. I felt myself blush from my ears to my neck. "That may be so, Stiles, but I have a few other team members to get to."

I laughed again and took a few steps back. But something stopped me from leaving right away and I went and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "You did great, Stiles."

My cheeks continued to feel hot and I resisted the urge to turn around to see his reaction. It was stupid of me to kiss him: I needed to remind myself about Malia and Lydia. Distracted, I tripped over someone's shoe and almost fell flat on my face, but a pair of strong arms caught me. A low chuckle escaped from his mouth. "Watch yourself, Veronica."

I looked up at Scott. "Nice catch, McCall. Nice game too, I guess."

"Thanks," he answered. He looked like he had more on his mind, but Scott saw someone behind me and waved. "I see my mom and Kira. Talk to you later."

He walked past me, leaving me there, unable to move. It didn't look like he'd forgiven me yet, but he wasn't as angry as he was this morning. But then again, he did just win the first game of the season.

Shaking him from my mind, I finally found Isaac on the opposite end of the field. I made my way through the crowd, pushing past everyone to get to him. I let out a breathless "Hey."

"Hey."

"Good —" I froze, noticing something in the shadows. Isaac put a hand on my shoulder. "V, is something wrong?"

I pointed to where I saw a figure emerging. "Is that - that's Derek."

He was limping towards the field, trying his best to remain in the dark. I took Isaac's hand in mine and pulled him, as much as I could, over. When we reached the injured werewolf, Isaac did his best to half-pick him up, putting Derek's arm around his shoulders, and said, "Derek, where have you been?"

He could barely speak and swung his head slightly to the side. "She trapped me."

"Who trapped you?"

Derek looked up at me and said, "Kate."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Just a short update. I'm working on picking things up but we'll see. As always, please review! It helps me know what I can do better story-wise. Or if I made any noticeable errors. Thank you, loves!


	5. From the Dead

Derek was in the back seat, groaning. I drove, not entirely sure where to go. I looked at Isaac. "Do we go to his loft or to Deaton?"

"We can't go to either. Or Scott's. If Kate trapped him, she'll be looking for him there first. " He folded his hands together, leaned forward, and rubbed his temples with his thumbs. "We'll go to Kira's."

"I'll call her. My phone's in my purse."

He dug through my bag. I started the call and waited until she answered. She must've still been at the field because there was a lot of shatter in the background. I said, "Kira. Something happened."

"Hey, V, did you leave already?" she asked.

"Yeah, Tell Scott and Stiles we found Derek."

"What?"

The phone was between my ear and shoulder. "He came to the game. We're taking him to your house right now. Isaac and I will fill you guys in when you get there. Call Deaton too."

"Okay, okay. We'll be on our way," she said. Before I hung up the phone, she whispered, "Be safe, V."

Isaac took the phone from me, his hand brushing my neck. I said, "Thanks."

The two of us continued in silence, Derek making noises here and there. We finally got to the house, Scott's motorcycle or Stiles's Jeep not in sight. "I'll grab him. Go open the door for me."

He did his best to carry Derek into the house. I led him to the kitchen, quickly clearing the counter for him to place the unconscious werewolf. He groaned again, probably healing so I asked, "What are we supposed to do with him?"

Isaac shook his head. "I don't kn—"

"What?" I turned to meet his eyes and saw them light up a little bit. "Yes, Lahey?"

"Touch him."

I coughed. "Sorry?"

"You said you saw Aiden's death when you touched Ethan. It could work on Derek."

"But they're twins. You know, twin telepathy and shit."

"Just try it. If you touch his wound, we'll see what happened."

"You cannot be serious," I muttered, eyes closed, smiling in disbelief. He kept staring at me expectantly and since Scott and Kira weren't here yet, I said, "But fine."

So I lifted Derek's torn shirt and found an open wound on the side of his abdomen.

* * *

_Shot in the chest, Derek drops to his knees. _

_ "It's real," he gasps, "you're real." Smoke surrounds him and then Kate comes out, her face turning and fangs growing._

* * *

Tears stained my face. I must've started crying when I connected with Derek. Without saying anything to Isaac, I found another wound, not wanting to miss an opportunity if the werewolf's healing process quickened.

* * *

_I couldn't see anything, other than Derek's face, which was bruised and bloodied. A knife dug into his right shoulder. Kate said, "If you don't do this, your little werewolves are going down."_

* * *

_Derek, suddenly awakened, asked, "What are you?" _

_ "Isn't it obvious?" She laughed. "I'm a werecoyote."_

* * *

_"There's a war brewing, Derek." _

_ He coughed, throat dry. "Between wolves and coyotes?" _

_ "For once, it's not about you filthy creatures. A war between trickster spirits."_

* * *

_Kate sat next to Derek, her hand lightly tracing a patch of recently healed skin. "I need you, Derek. I missed you." _

_ "Liar," he hissed. "Why do you really need me?" _

_ She sighed. "Always so skeptical. But I need you to convince your little Scott McCall to fight with us." _

_ "Fight with you? Or for you? And why would he do that for you?" Her laugh echoed in the darkness. _

_ "It's what Ally would've wanted. For him to fight with her aunt." _

_ He scoffed quietly, shaking his head. "Ha. She wouldn't have wanted that from him." _

_ "Fine then because he won't know what he's dealing with if he joins the other side." She stood up, brushing the dirt off her pants. _

_ Derek glared at her retreating figure and asked, "Whose side?"_

* * *

"V, his wounds closed." My eyes opened and scanned Derek's body. All the wounds were gone; he'd healed while I dug through his memories. Isaac took a damp towel and began to wipe off the blood.

The front door opened loudly. Scott barged into the kitchen, with Kira and Stiles trailing behind him, and half-shouted, "What did you do to him?"

"Whoa, Scott. She didn't do anything to him. This was all Kate."

He took a step back. "Allison's Kate?"

"Yeah."

Stiles asked, "How do you know?"

"He told us right before he collapsed. But V's been helping him heal somehow."

Kira stood next to me, our shoulders touching. She asked, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know really. He wasn't healing at all until I thought V should use her supernatural touch to find information that could help us to tend to his wounds. But then everything closed right up."

Scott turned to me. "What did you see?"

"Kate. She's a werecoyote."

"How?"

"Peter scratched her. His claws must've gotten deep enough," Stiles provided. "I don't know how that turned her into a werecoyote but that's all I've got."

"Okay," he said, accepting this, "what else?"

"Kate took Derek to force him to convince you to fight with her. She kidnapped him, so to speak, after you trapped the nogitsune. That's where he's been."

"Why would we fight with her?"

"Apparently, she's starting a war."

"Between wolves and coyotes?" Allison had mentioned it before, how funny it was that Scott and Derek thought alike.

"No, between trickster spirits."

Kira and Scott looked at each other, her eyes wide. "Foxes and coyotes spirits?"

I shrugged. "Possibly. It's what it sounded like."

"Deaton is on his way to check on Derek. After this, he'll stay with me since we have the security system set up. I know Kate will come looking for him there, so Isaac, I'll need you to stand guard some nights," Scott said, his orders explicit. He turned to me, "Thanks, Veronica. You too, Isaac."

"Of course," I said, smiling.

"But this doesn't mean you're a member of the pack again," he said. Stiles put a hand on his shoulder, protesting, but he brushed his best friend off. "These two might trust you, but I can't. And I'm the Alpha."

Ouch. "Okay, well I'm gonna go then. Be safe."

My eyes started to water as Isaac and I headed to the door. I saw Isaac smirk when we both heard Kira and Stiles quietly scold Scott. Lahey leaned in slightly and said, "Don't worry."

* * *

A couple days later, I was perched on Stiles's bed, reading a book on folklore about coyotes. My head rested on his shoulder and every now and then he would rest his on mine and I sighed out of comfort.

He asked, "Are you sure you were comfortable last night?"

"Stiles," I said, biting my lip, "I said I was fine. Your bed is big enough. It was last night and the night before that and the —"

Pushing me, he retorted, "Oh you think you're funny."

"I'm hilarious." Stiles rolled his eyes and moved back onto his bed. I asked, "You're gonna nap now?"

"Might as well," he said and closed his eyes. "Without Lydia, we're lost."

And that was the reminder we would never be able to successfully understand the war that Kate was starting. I sighed. "I thought Isaac was super loyal to Scott."

"He is, but he also understands that Scott can be wrong. Like he is about you. Lydia, on the other hand, is technically his first beta now. After Allison died, they really needed each other."

I nodded. "What about you?"

"I got through it with the two of them, but they needed each other a lot more to grieve and move on. And after awhile, it was apparent that Lydia was his first beta. It was understandable. He's still my best friend." It made sense to me. I yawned and Stiles extended his hand for me. "See, you're tired too. Come nap with me, V."

"No, I can't. I found some really interesting stuff about trickster spirits."

"Okay, then read to me what you've found." He tucked his arms behind his head, staring at me expectantly.

I flipped through the pages of one of the books on the bed. I read, "'The trickster spirit breaks the conforms of gods or nature, occasionally out of malice but mostly out of positive intentions. The bending of rules is usually through cunning tricks. Famous tricksters include Prometheus (a titan), the Coyote spirit, the Fox spirit, and the Raven spirit.'"

"But not wolves?"

"No. Werewolves are shape-shifters. Their human forms typically aren't consumed by spirits. But there are some cases where lycanthropy occurs through spiritual means."

"So this war Kate mentioned. It could be titans versus coyotes?"

My lips pursed themselves. "More likely, kitsunes and coyotes."

"That makes more sense. What about ravens?"

"Ravens are tricky. Based on internet research, it doesn't look like anyone has experienced them for hundreds of years. But in mythology, ravens are either closely associated with death or good luck."

"Hmmm." I glanced up from my book. Stiles had slowly fallen asleep on his side; his body was curled around my sitting one. In his sleep, he reached out to my hand, gently touching it as he fell into a deeper slumber.

My eyes felt heavy so I nudged him back a little to lay in front of him. His body naturally contorted to provide comfort. When I stopped moving, drifting off, Stiles put his hand on my hip. My shirt rode upwards and his thumb found my exposed waist, lightly tracing circles until we both fell sound asleep.

* * *

_Allison put both hands on my shoulders and said, sternly, "I'm glad Derek is safe. And do not trust Kate. I made that mistake once."_

_ "But she's your aunt," I pointed out. _

_ She sighed, relenting."Trust her a little bit. But don't become her allies until you're sure the other side is a bigger threat to Beacon Hills."_

_ "Okay, Ally." I hugged her. _

_ "One more thing: you need to be trained. I think you'll like daggers." _

* * *

**Author's Note: **As always, I hope you're enjoying! Please leave a review if you have the time! (:

P.S. I know Kate will mostly like be a werejaguar in the series but for the sake of the plotline I've developed, I decided to make it slightly AU. Hope that's not a problem!

P.P.S. I'm currently looking for a part-Beta, part-someone-to-talk-to-about-my-plans-for-this-story. PM me for details!


	6. A Bump in the Night

Someone was knocking, prompting me to wake up from my conversation with Allison. I started to open my eyes and found myself face-to-face with Stiles. Sleeping beside - with? - him was much more comfortable than the night Isaac spent with me at the Yukimura's. Safer. Even though he was human and Isaac wasn't. I carefully pulled out from under him - his arm was still across my waist - to open his door. On the other side of the door stood Scott, who wasn't surprised to see me.

"Hi," he said. "I thought you'd be here."

I leaned my head against the door and whispered, "Yeah, Stiles is asleep though."

"I'll wake him, I need to talk to both of you." I moved aside to let him enter. Scott walked over to Stiles and pushed him a little; Stiles woke up and hit Scott in the stomach.

He wiped his eyes as he sat up, and said, "Whoa, hey man. What's up?"

"Isaac's been trying to convince me," Scott said, sitting down, "that banning you from the pack wasn't a good idea. Lydia said it was because you kept so much hidden from us, V."

His best friend was about to protest when he waved his hand dismissively and kept talking. "But then Isaac said that it wasn't a good move as an Alpha. And he's right. I'd rather keep an eye on you than let you wander around. Especially if you're dangerous."

Sort of like how Isaac did. "I'm not—"

"Whether you know it or not. You could end up in a fugue state, like Lydia did, and that's not what's best for the pack."

Stiles interjected. "That's great then! We're all back and working together."

"She - you still aren't officially part of the pack," Scott said, shaking his head. He gestured wildly between himself and Stiles. "But once we determine why you can do what you do, as a pack, we'll decide.

"That sounds reasonable," I commented. I thought about Allison and asked, "But what about training? I don't want to feel weak."

A memory Allison showed me a few weeks ago flashed in my mind:

_ "I felt utterly weak. I hate that feeling! I want to feel stronger than that. I want to feel powerful."_

"I was about to suggest that. Allison's dad is willing to train you."

My head snapped up. Chris Argent? "What?"

"I went to talk to him earlier today."

"I can't ask him to do that."

"He offered. I went to tell him about you and your connection with Allison. But he didn't give me a chance to finish and questioned me if you had any prior training. I said no and he said it wasn't right for someone who was human and involved in the supernatural world to not have any training." I looked at Stiles and Scott added, "Especially if they didn't choose this lifestyle."

"So he knows about…."

"Allison? No. I couldn't bear to tell him until I fully understood the situation. Are you sure it's real?"

"Yeah. I thought I proved that to you already."

He chuckled. "I meant. Are you sure they're not dreams or hallucinations?"

"There's no other explanation for how accurate the information she gives me is."

Scott nodded, debating if he believed me about this. I sighed and touched one of the many books stacked around the room. He finally noticed the mess Stiles and I made earlier and picked up an open book. He scanned the page quickly and asked, "Trickster spirits?"

I counted them off on my hand. "The coyote, the fox, and the raven."

"Do you guys really think Kate is starting a war between kitsunes and coyote spirits?"

Running a hand through his hair, Stiles said, "Maybe. But we need Lydia to help."

"I'll talk to her. Sorry about that," he said. "But right now, we're gonna go to Argent. I told him we'd swing by tonight so he could meet you."

The boys left the room together to go start the car but I stayed behind to process what just happened. I wasn't an ally or an enemy - just something in-between. Kind of like Allison right now. Allison. I wished I was able to summon her at will, not have to wait until I slept to talk to her. Ask for advice. About training with her dad. About the different supernatural creatures we'd face. Maybe this would've been better if I'd known her when she were alive. Maybe not. Scott and Isaac and Stiles seemed confused how to feel about this newly discovered connection in front of them. And Lydia, I didn't even know how she was doing. She stayed away because of Scott. I should've told her first. I should've been better friends with her - she lost her best friend, that person I only ever dreamt of having. Damn it.

"I screwed this up, Allison." I closed my eyes and said, "What did you get me into? This is your life, not mine."

And I swore, in the back of my mind, I heard her whisper, "You'll do great. I know you'll make me proud."

That couldn't be real. I pushed the thought away and grabbed a jacket since it was getting late. By the time I stepped outside, it was dusk, the sun was setting, and the boys were ready to go in the car. I climbed into the Jeep and smiled shakily at Stiles.

"You okay?" He asked. I nodded. "Yeah, of course."

We drove until it was finally dark. I barely made out the shoddy, rundown apartment complex outside as we entered the parking lot. Allison's dad couldn't have decided this was the best place for him. I leaned forward from the back of Stiles's Jeep. "This is where he lives?"

Before Scott could answer, something rammed into the passenger side of the jeep, nearly tipping us over. Stiles pressed his hands against the door to prevent injury, but I hit my head on the headrest and there was now a throbbing pain above my ear.

"What the fuck was that?"

Scott's eyes flashed red and he growled, "I don't know. You two stay in here."

He got out, claws ready, and crept around, looking for the source. Stiles climbed into the backseat, nearly smacking me in the face. "What are you doing, Stiles?"

"Protecting you."

"W—" Whatever hit us the first time smashed into the Jeep again: this time from the driver's side. Stiles fell onto and wrapped his arms around me in the process. I ducked my head near his chest and he put a hand around my head to protect me. I whispered, "We have to get out of here."

He put his lips near my ear and whispered, "Trust me, V, when I say we're safer in the car than —"

This time something threw Scott against the jeep, but the vehicle barely rocked. Stiles tried to tighten his body around me, but I twisted my head away towards the window to get a better look. But it was too dark outside to figure out what was happening, but I could see our Alpha werewolf's red eyes pop up here and there.

I turned back to Stiles, whose hand was gently holding the side of my head. He smiled out of reassurance and ran his fingers through my hair. When he pulled his hand away for a second, he whispered, "Shit."

"What?" I jerked my hand to the side of my head, touching where I hit my head.

"You're bleeding. You must've cut your head when you hit it. The headrest has a bit of metal that sticks out on the side," he said. But then started to backtrack when he no doubt saw the horrified expression in my widened eyes. "It's not gushing blood. It's not too bad."

My heart sped up and my arms started to tingle. I begged, "Please take me inside the complex. I don't see or hear anything, so we'll be fine."

He leaned his head back and groaned. "If you weren't so terrified of blood, I would say no."

"How do you know I'm afraid of blood?"

"We've been friends for, like, 8 months, V. God." Stiles scanned the surrounding area and when he deemed it safe, he opened the door and ushered me outside. I was about to close the door but he stopped me. He mouthed, "Can't draw attention."

I grabbed his hand as we ran to the entrance of the building. Silence surrounded us, not even our breathing made a sound. The darkness seemed to envelop the whole parking lot, except for the single light at the door.

Right as Stiles was about to reach for the door handle, a huge creature slammed into me, breaking us apart. I tried to pick myself up but whatever it was had pinned me down and started to claw at my abdomen. Breathing seemed impossible and my vision was blacking out. But the pain was so strong. I felt the warm, sticky blood creeping out of my stomach. And the claws kept scratching and whenever they dug too far in, it stung, making me scream.

I thought I was screaming.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hi y'all. Finally some action! Anyway, I'm still looking for a part-beta, part-someone-to-discuss-my-plot-with, so if you're interested, please PM me and I'll give you more specifics of what I'm asking for. As a reminder, this is slightly AU (like Kate is probably a were-jaguar canonically, but for the sake of my plot, she is a were-coyote).

Please review if/when you have the time! It lets me know what I need to do as a writer. ^.^ Thank you so much, my loves.

_Disclaimer: The line I used from Allison is from season 1, episode 9, if I recall correctly. _


	7. Aftermath

_ Our spot in the woods was the same as always: a little wooden table surrounded by trees with some fog rolling in, close to the ground. Allison was propped up on the table, legs crossed, squinting at me. "V? What are you doing back so soon?" _

_ "I don't know." The last thing I could remember was driving to her dad's apartment. "I must've fallen asleep in the car." _

_ "Oh, where were you going?" _

_ "To your dad's. Scott asked him to train me." _

_ Her eyes lit up. "Really? That's fantastic!" _

_ "I know. I'm kind of nervous though." _

_ "Why?" _

_ "You. I'm gonna have to tell him about this," I said, gesturing to all of her. "I don't want to do or say something that will hurt him." _

_ "My dad will be grateful knowing that I'm okay." _

_ "I don't know —"_

_ She said, "Tell him!" _

_ "If you insist," I said, laughing. Allison playfully pushed me away, but true to myself, I fell off the table. I got up and we sat for awhile, talking about everything that happened until she looked down at me curiously. _

_ "Why are you still here?" _

_ "What?" _

_ "It just feels like it's been awhile. Like. _You need to wake up_."_

"You need to wake up, V. Please," I heard. My eyelids fluttered open and saw Kira sitting beside my bed. I looked around and determined I was at the hospital. I squeezed Kira's hand and said, "Hey."

Her eyes watered. "You're awake!"

"Yeah, I guess? How long was I out?" I played with my hands a little bit, opening and closing them many times.

"About a day or two."

"What happened?"

"I- I don't know. But I think Isaac or Stiles is coming to take over in a few minutes, so."

I closed my eyes, confused. "Take over?"

"We decided to take shifts. If you woke up, we didn't want to overwhelm you so many people." Isaac walked in then and he smiled when saw I was awake.

"Hey, V. You're up."

"It seems like I am."

"Alright, I will see you two later." She let her hand hover at the edge of my bed as Isaac passed her to sit next to me. Kira whispered, "Thanks for waking up."

I waved to her as best I could and looked at Isaac. "Lahey, please tell me what happened."

"What do you remember?" He took my hand and rubbing his thumb across my knuckles.

"Scott was fighting something outside and when Stiles and I tried to make a run for it, I got attacked. But I don't know by what." I couldn't remember too much of what happened, like why Stiles and I left the safety of the Jeep, but I remembered the attack. Vividly.

"Scott was fighting a werecoyote. It's possible it was Kate's first or second beta. It must've sensed that you were a supernatural creature, since it targeted you and not Stiles. What we don't know is why it clawed at your stomach specifically and chose not to tear you to pieces."

I sighed and gripped his hand a little tighter. "What happened after I passed out though?"

"That's when Scott howled for backup, I showed up, and we took the werecoyote down together."

"Why did it come after me? I don't even know what I am."

He reached towards my face, tucking my hair behind my ear. "Lydia has some ideas about that actually. She's on her way."

"How bad is it?"

"Well, Scott's mom said your face should heal without scars but you might be unwilling to wear bikinis for awhile."

I groaned. "Tell me how bad it is though?"

"You want me to look?" Isaac looked baffled by my request. I nodded. "Are you sure you want me to?"

Rolling my eyes, I laughed. "Lahey, I'm wearing underwear and it's just my ripped up stomach. You really shouldn't be that nervous, okay?"

He nodded. Isaac carefully peeled the thin hospital blanket off me and proceeded to lift up the hospital slipped. His eyes flashed werewolf yellow and I assumed it was out of anger for what the werecoyote did to me. Then he reached towards my stomach and gently removed a bandage. Isaac growled. "Fuck Kate."

"Isaac."

He sat back down and held my hand, almost hissing, "No. You've done nothing to deserve this and if this happened because of her. She is going down."

"She is Allison's aunt." Suddenly his face softened at her name.

"You don't think hurting her friends would make Allison want to take down her aunt?"

"No. I don't. I think Allison would rather figure out what Kate was doing than destroy her," I argued. "I know I didn't know her —"

"That's right, you didn't know her like I did." I removed my hand from his and looked away. I said, "But I think I've talked to her enough to know she wouldn't destroy anyone."

When I looked back at Isaac, his eyebrows were raised in disbelief. I couldn't blame him; what had started as whisper ended up in a half-shout. He opened his mouth to argue but Lydia walked into the hospital room and smiled at me. She said, "I'm so glad you're awake, V. You scared us all."

"I scared you? You haven't spoken to me in, like, two weeks," I said without thinking, smacking my lips.

"Scott is my alpha," she defended. Lydia sat down and her shoulders slumped unLydia-like. "And you could've told me about Allison. I would've understood."

"I'm sorry," I whispered. It was about Allison. She didn't know how to talk to me about her best friend or maybe that I could talk to her and she couldn't. I touched her hand and said, "Allison didn't want me to. She said it would hurt you guys too much knowing that such a connection existed."

"She didn't want us to exploit it," Isaac supplied.

I shook my head. "Not exploit, but —"

"If we used the connection, we would get attached. And let our lives here fall to the wayside," Lydia said. I smiled meekly at her and nodded.

"If I thought it wouldn't crush you, I would've said something."

"That means a lot, V. But enough about Allison. I figured out what you might be."

"And what is that?"

She pulled out a book, worn and weathered from use, and crossed her legs, like this was business. And knowing what they'd all been through, it probably was. "Stiles brought me up to date on the research you found about trickster spirits. And I remembered reading a book on animal totems and spirits. Which led me to Deaton and he gave me a book that focused on raven spirits."

Isaac said, "Is this going anywhere?"

"Yes," she said, narrowing her eyes at the werewolf. "You're a raven spirit, V."

"What makes you think that?"

"They have a close association to death, are playful by nature, and often times, found in solitude or mated pairs. They also are known to have the magical power of healing."

I hesitated. "I thought ravens flew in flocks."

"It's actually an 'unkindness' or 'conspiracy.' While they sometimes do, they prefer fewer numbers."

"But how does any of that imply I might be a raven spirit?"

"You have a strong connection with the dead and out of any of us, you practically healed Derek, and you're the one most comfortable spending time alone. I always need someone around, Stiles is constantly in desperate need of company, even Isaac here craves companionship."

Before I protested anything, a Scott's mom came in and said, "I'm glad you're awake. Kira told me and I thought I'd give you some alone time with your friends before interrupting. But Lydia, Isaac, I'm gonna have to get doctor to make sure her vitals are okay and possibly replace the bandages."

I nodded and thanked her. Lydia squeezed my hand before strutting out the room and Isaac, he looked like he was going to lean in but thought against it and said, "See you later, V."

"Bye, Lahey." Doctors flooded the room then, telling me exactly what was wrong with me. I had a fractured rib, a broken wrist, a bruised tailbone, minor cuts on my face, and larger, deeper ones on my abdomen. But they were looking at a positive outcome and I would heal in no time. Too bad I wasn't a werewolf.

A few nurses came in, asking questions about how I felt and if I needed anything. I only had enough energy to smile and answer in short sentences here and there, but soon I was closing my eyes and thinking about what Lydia told me.

* * *

**Author's Note: **  
Thanks to WalkingInAWinterWonderlandxx as my beta!(:  
And now the mystery continues ~  
Please leave a review, it means a lot ^.^

EDIT: If it matters, I went back to chapters 1 & 2 and really revised and tightened the chapters to help the narrative.


	8. Possession

**Author's Note: **So this chapter is a bit of a doozy. That's why it's been a few days since my last update. But as always read and review and let me know what you're thinking! Also, thank you again to my lovely beta, WalkingInAWinterWonderlandxx. ^.^

(Just as a timeline reference: In California, our school year tends to start the third week of August. So this chapter takes place about the third week of September)

* * *

_"Have you tried healing?" she asked. I started to laugh at her suggestion until she shot me a look. _

_"What? Allison, I'm not a werewolf. I can't just heal on my own." _

_ "Lydia said ravens were known for magical healing abilities. Maybe you can't fully heal your wounds, but you can try closing them. You've been in the hospital for a week. Just try it when you're alone." I shook my head at her, but I still had a feeling that maybe she was right. _

* * *

Ms. McCall was standing guard outside the door to make sure no one would walk in and see me if I managed to self-heal. I got up and took off the hospital gown before walking into the restroom. Instead of looking down at the bandages wrapped around my stomach, I watched myself peel them off in the mirror. The wounds were open still, held together by staples. The smell of blood surrounded me and I almost felt woozy. But I shook the thought and placed a hand on the biggest gash across my abdomen.

Suddenly, I was back at Argent's apartment complex. I tried to walk around but I couldn't move from my spot in the middle of the parking lot. So I was forced to watch and not interfere as Stiles and I ran towards the entrance of the building. Then the large animal slammed into us and separated us. Scott shouted from behind me, "Veronica!"

The animal - it looked like a coyote or cougar from here - started to tear into my stomach and I knew that Scott was too far to get to me in time. It sounded like he was still fighting something else. But then Isaac came out of the dark and ran into the animal, pushing it off of me. Stiles was back at my side, putting his hands over my wounds to stop the blood. He was whispering, "V, you've got to stay with me, please."

My chest tightened, bringing me back to reality. I let out a long, overdue exhale; I didn't even notice I was holding my breath in the first place. But Isaac had been there. He saved me. Keeping my breaths even, I switched my focus to my stomach. My wounds closed, but not completely healed. But I didn't expect anything else.

As I walked back into the room, my entire body was shaking, wobbly. I sat down to steady myself. This wasn't supposed to happen. My cuts were fixed and the pain was gone, but why did I feel so weak? I pulled the hospital gown back on and made my way to the door, knocking so Ms. McCall would know when to come in. She came in with a black plastic bag, saw me slowly walking, and helped ease me back on to the bed.

Once I was sitting comfortable, she gestured to the bag, and said, "Lydia brought you some clothes for when you leave. Which might be today. Can I see?"

I lifted up the gown to show her my stomach. Impressed, she said, "That's good. Everything's closed and your bruises have yellowed out. How's your tailbone?"

"Doesn't hurt to sit on it anymore. The only thing left is the wrist. I don't really know how to heal bones. I barely know how I sped up the healing process for myself, or Derek."

"You'll figure it out. Especially with my son helping. But everything sounds good and I'll make sure you get to go home today," she said, grazing her fingers across the scars. "Will these ever go away?"

Shaking my head, I said, "I wish. But I'm not a werewolf so they'll always be around, Ms. McCall."

"Sweetheart, call me Melissa." She smoothed my hair back and kissed my forehead. "I'll go get the discharge papers for you to sign. "

"Do you know where I'm staying, Ms - Melissa?" I asked. She smiled at me and said, "You'll be staying with Sheriff Stilinski and Stiles. The Yukimuras are … hesitant about letting you stay over."

"I understand. They don't know what kind of danger I pose." Referencing one of the myths Lydia and I read earlier in the week, I said, "And foxes don't get along with ravens."

"Psh, foxes don't like werewolves, but you don't see that being a problem for my son and Kira."

We laughed at her comment and she kissed me on the forehead again before leaving. I sat up and pulled out the clothes in the bag Scott's mom left on the chair. Inside was a thin, mint-colored sundress, a pair of brown combat boots, and a strapless bra. There was also a note from Lydia, that said:

_Even though your stomach is a mess, you have great legs!_

_Work 'em, babe. XOXO Lydia_

I took my gown off again and put on the bra. The dress was pretty with lace detailing across the waist. I silently thanked Lydia for managing to keep my sense of style when shopping for me. God knows how many poor girls she dressed up in outfits that made them feel uncomfortable. The door opened behind me before I put the dress on. Thinking it was Melissa or a doctor, I dropped the dress back onto the bed and turned around to sign my discharge papers. Instead it was Stiles, whose mouth was wide open as his eyes raked over my nearly naked body.

"I-I, uh," he stuttered. Ignoring his shock, I glanced down at my stomach and said, "Yeah, I sped the healing process along."

"Yeah, you d-did."

Stiles was holding my favorite black bomber jacket. I reached for it and said, "Hey, you brought it!"

He almost handed it to me, but then looked down and changed his mind. Red spread across his skin from his neck to his cheeks. Stiles said, "Actually, you should put your clothes on. I'll turn around."

It wasn't as though as he hadn't seen me in a bikini before, but I did as told. I slipped on the dress, socks, and boots as quickly as possible, before clearing my throat. "You can turn around now."

"I um. I should've knocked, I'm sorry about that." I rolled my eyes at him and groaned.

"Stiles, you've seen me in a bikini. We went swimming together, like, twice a week. I don't think this was any different."

He blushed again, stuttering, "I-I know. But this is more intimate."

That was actually sweet. I grabbed the jacket from his trembling hands and pulled it on. "You should tell Lydia that."

"What?"

"She'll like that. It was sweet," I said, shrugging.

"Why do I care if she'll like it?" Stiles asked, raising an eyebrow. I ignored the sense of satisfaction growing at his responses.

I explained, "You and Lydia. I mean, I thought there was still something there. Even after Malia and you broke up."

"No no no no no. Lydia and I, we're just friends," he insisted. A little laugh escaped past my lips but I stopped it when I saw his face soften in regret. "I realized that pining after someone for eight years wasn't exactly true love."

I wanted to assure him that he and Lydia were soulmates, but I knew deep down that he was right. He needed to move on. Before I said anything else on the subject, Stiles sat down on my bed and shook his head. His eyes locked with mine and he flashed his boyish smile, butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.

Shoving those feelings back down, I sat down next to him and asked, "Did you know Isaac was there that night? He saved my life."

"Yeah, I thought you did already." I shook my head no. Stiles furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "He didn't tell you when you woke up?"

"No, we argued about whether Allison would jump at the chance to kill Kate. When I started the healing process, I was outside my body and saw him save me."

"Oh, did you see anything else?" he asked. When I said I didn't, he nodded energetically, and went back to Kate. "She gave Ally nightmares at one point. So it makes sense he'd think the only way out was to finally kill her."

I asked, "Was she really crazy?"

"Yup," he whistled. "Or maybe just fanatic about hunting. It was her passion."

He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. "Don't worry about Kate."

"Stiles." I tried talking, but it came out as a little whisper instead. "It was Kate, wasn't it? Who attacked me?"

"I don't think it was. It had to be her betas. One for Chris, one for Scott. But I don't know how the second knew to attack you over me."

"It must've been able to sense me. Coyote spirits and raven spirits have been known to feud for ages. But we should be heading to Argent's right now," I remembered, standing up. He stood up, confused. "Melissa told him I would be over soon to start my training."

"Are you sure you should be training already?" He seemed concerned. And he had every right to be: I wasn't a self-healing werewolf and still had so much to learn about everything raven spirit related. But this was important too.

"I'm completely fine. I sped up the healing process of my entire body. Besides, I just need to learn to use a gun." Stiles knew I had him there: I at least needed to know how to defend myself before I could control the rest of my potential abilities. Since he had nothing left to say, I laced my fingers in his and pulled him out to sign the discharge papers.

* * *

Stiles parked right outside the abandoned warehouse. He turned to me and asked, "Really? Here?"

"We're a little outside Beacon Hills to protect Argent from Kate. This is the safest we'll be for my training," I argued, poking him in the chest for emphasis.

"Shouldn't you have Scott as a bodyguard or something? You were the one that got attacked, not Argent," He crossed his arms over his chest. I laughed.

"That's what Isaac's for," I said and pointed out the motorcycle leaning against the building's wall. Stiles narrowed his eyes. "If Scott were here, that would be too much. Argent and him under one roof with Kate on the hunt?"

"I get it." He sighed, relenting. "I'm staying too."

"Stiles! Why?"

"You're living under my dad's roof now. You're pretty much my responsibility now," he said. "Besides, how are you gonna get to my place? The back of the motorcycle?"

I smirked and got out of his jeep. Before closing the door, I said, "Motorcycles are pretty sexy, Stilinski."

He ran around his Jeep to me and said, "You got me there. Are Argent and Isaac inside?"

"Let's find out," I replied. Stiles pushed open the boarded entrance of the warehouse and stepped in before me. The room we were in smelled like dust. It was dark, except for skinny slivers of light slipping in through the wooden boards on the windows. Instinctively, I wrapped my arm around Stiles's waist. I felt him tense at my touch and started to pull away, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable. He stopped me and put his arm protectively around my shoulders. He whispered, "Don't worry. I'm sure they're in here somewhere."

"Yes, yes we are, Stiles," Isaac's voice rang through the dark. The lights came on, flickering at first, and we saw Isaac and Argent, clad in leather, standing across from us.

"Hi, Mr. Argent. It's nice to finally meet you," I said as we walked over to shake his hand. I smiled at Isaac but he kept his eyes on Stiles, who removed his arm from around me.

He gave me an up-down before taking my hand and firmly shaking it. "You're Veronica? The raven spirit?"

"Yes, sir." I nodded.

"My family has never come across one, though many have tried. Your kind…they're quite mysterious."

"I know. I think that they only have two forms: human and bird. No in-between state to get caught in. Kitsune don't have an animal state at all."

"Interesting. Why do you think coyote spirits then have an in-between form?"

"I think they believed a half-turn would be practical for living with humans and for natural competition. Either that or it's an evolved ability that developed from turning humans into versions of themselves," I answered. Of all the mythological myths Lydia and I had read, none of them explained why the coyote spirit learned to partially shift.

Argent cracked a smile. "You're smart. Like Allison. Isaac mentioned you have healing abilities?"

"Kind of. I heal by touching the injury, but I can't remove scars. It's also emotionally and physically draining, since I enter visions of how the injury happened. I can't do it often."

"Then we better teach you how to fight. It'll take awhile, but we'll start with a handgun for basic protection. Then we can move on to hand-to-hand combat or other weapons." I nodded in agreement, excited that I wouldn't have to rely on Isaac or Scott or Kira to protect me. Stiles and Isaac, both wearing headphones, stood near the entrance of the building. I followed Argent over to a table with a single gun on it. He picked it up and said, "This is a Ruger Single-Six Convertible. It's a single-action revolver and the best option for someone with no background in weaponry."

He handed it to me, safety on, and I almost dropped it. "I didn't realize it would be so heavy."

"That's why you have to watch out for the recoil." I nodded. Chris handed me noise-canceling headphones and safety goggles. "Put those on. Basic safety rules: don't point the gun at anyone except the bad guys and don't put your finger on the trigger unless you're ready. Go stand over there."

I stood several feet away from him and faced another table lined with fruit. Chris raised his voice. "You're gonna hold the gun in your dominant hand. Your thumb will be on one side of the grip with your middle, ring, and pinky fingers curled around the trigger guard."

After I did as told, putting the gun in my right hand, he continued. "Cup your left hand over your right. You should be using that hand to steady yourself, not to grip. As a warning, your thumbs should not be in the way of the slides or you will get injured like that.

"Now stand shoulder-width apart," Chris instructed. I made sure the gun was properly in my hands, spreading my feet at the proper width. "Yes, just like that. Good. Knees slightly bent."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, ready to aim. It came naturally to me: my body seemed to know to align the front sight with the rear sight with my dominant eye. "The gun is already loaded so turn off the safety and shoot."

I took deep breaths, kept my eyes fixed on the orange, and pulled the trigger multiple times. It felt easy and the bullets miraculously went through the middle. Turning the safety back on, I looked at Allison's dad, who had a smile on his face. "How did that happen?"

He said, "Not bad."

Removing the goggles and headphones, I walked over to the table and placed the gun and everything else gently on the table. Stiles and Isaac came up to me but they stopped short. Casting my eyes downward, I asked, "What's wrong?"

"V, your eyes are black."

My fingers touched the brim of my glasses and I blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Wait, it's gone," Isaac said. His hand cupped my chin, tilting my face up towards his own. "They're brown again. That was … weird."

And then, everything went black.

Despite losing my vision, I had some control over my body since I was still standing up and not collapsed on the floor. I tried to speak, but no words came out. At least, not the ones I wanted to say. I heard my voice ringing throughout the warehouse, but it wasn't my own.

My voice was asking, "Is this the body of Veronica Yang?"

Neither of the boys spoke; they must've been too afraid to answer. Chris did instead. "Yes. What is going on?"

"I'm sure Veronica has not gotten any training or education on what it means to be a raven spirit. Simply put, I am the leader of a powerful group of raven spirits, and as such am able to posses other raven spirits from a great distance. No more than five minutes at a time though."

Stiles quipped, "You mean a 'flock'?"

Whoever was controlling me turned my head towards Stiles. "We prefer 'conspiracy.' But there is a man named Deaton, who was recently bestowed a bestiary containing information on ravens. Veronica, if you are listening, take it and learn. There is much you need to know."

Argent asked, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this war of trickster spirits, would you?"

"Ah, yes. A woman by the name of Kate Argent has been breaking our alliance with the coyote spirits. We're unsure of her motives, but she seems to be unsure of Veronica's heritage."

"Veronica is unsure of Veronica's heritage," Isaac retorted.

"Well, that will change soon. But don't worry, my conspiracy will arrive a week before the partial solar eclipse to help fight," my voice replied. Whoever was in control must've realized they didn't know exactly who they were dealing with. "Who are each of you?"

Isaac raised his hand and said, "Isaac Lahey, werewolf."

"Stiles. Human."

"Chris Argent." My eyes narrowed uncomfortably and he said, "Kate is my sister, but I assure you, if what she is doing is against an alliance or some spiritual code, I will step aside."

I asked, "Are there more of you?"

"We have a pack," Isaac answered simply. "But who the hell are you?"

But before they answered, my vision returned. I whispered, "What just happened?"

"Your eyes, V," Stiles said, "were completely white. I don't understand."

Without another word, I collapsed and I was pretty sure Isaac was the one who caught me.


	9. A Little Calm

**Author's Note: **Here you go, my dears! As always, read and review ^.^

* * *

"_Have you noticed that you're around a lot more when I'm awake?"_

_"What do you mean?" _

_"You know things that I learn during the day, before I've even had a chance to tell you." _

_She took a moment. "I guess? I haven't been thinking about it."_

* * *

The pack and I crowded around a small lunch table in the courtyard, tucked away from the prying ears of gossipmongers. It was also the first time in a couple weeks that Malia was sitting with us. Scott asked again, "Wait, so your eyes were completely white?"

And Stiles answered for me again. "100%. It was creepy."

"And they were in control of your body?" Lydia questioned.

"That's what it looked like," Isaac answered.

"But how?"

"I don't know yet. But when I go to work today, I'll ask Deaton for the bestiary," I said, for the umpteenth time. Scott looked like he was about to ask another question he undoubtedly already asked so I changed the subject. "Let's go to Homecoming."

Their heads snapped to me. Kira asked, hushed, "We're about to be in the middle of war between two spirits we don't know anything about and you want to go to a dance?"

"Guys, I will say it again: you don't have to get involved."

"V, you don't know the extent of your powers and you just started training," Scott said.

Without thinking, I whispered, "_Nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger leurs-même_."

"Exactly," Isaac said, eyes closed. They all suddenly looked a million miles away. I wondered if it was a mistake bringing her up with them like this, but then Malia's eyes met my own, filled with guilt. In the distant corners of my mind, I heard Allison ask, "Why would she be guilty?"

I shook it off. "I'm sorry for —"

"Sweetie, stop right there. Don't be sorry," Lydia said, her hand reaching across to mine. She looked pointedly at Kira. "We did promise her a kickass senior year. Let's just go as a group. When is it?"

"It's in two weeks. And we have almost five weeks until the solar eclipse so we'll be okay. I'll be okay." The rest of the pack agreed. Some were excited, some still uneasy about the prospect of having fun amidst an oncoming storm. But I smiled in satisfaction.

The bell rang and we left for class. Isaac and I fell into step on our way to economics. I asked him, "How are we doing on the project? I know me being in the hospital put us behind a week."

Isaac shrugged. "Mr. Hahn gave us a two week extension, so it's due the day after winter break."

"That's great," I said. The werewolf smiled down at me, the first genuine smile he's given me since our argument at the hospital. Which reminded me. "Lahey, hey. I know you saved my life and I haven't gotten around to thanking you. But seriously. Thank you so much."

"V, you were in danger. Scott howled and I came running."

"You saved my life. Shut up and take my gratitude," I argued. Before stepping inside the classroom, I got on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

* * *

I parked my car outside the vet's office. Everything had been so hectic lately and Stiles questioned why I would even want to work in the middle of it all. But I needed something to make my life feel normal, even if my boss definitely wasn't. Deaton held the door open for me and said, "Good afternoon, Ms. Yang."

He was never this formal for me. But I laughed and played along. "How are you, Mr. Deaton?"

"Splendid," he answered, "but all jokes aside. How are you doing?"

"I think I'm doing surprisingly well for someone who was attacked by a werecoyote and then possessed by some supernatural creature she knows next to nothing about." He led me to his office, sat at his desk and gestured for me to sit. "Speaking of which, the spirit that possessed me. They mentioned you."

"What did they say?" Deaton asked.

"Someone recently gave you a bestiary."

He smiled and stood up, walking over to the bookcase by the window. With his back to me, he said, "Ah. Yes. I haven't gotten a chance to look at it yet. How did they know?"

"I'm not sure. But there's supposed to be a good amount of information on raven spirits in there."

"I wouldn't say it was new. My grandfather left it for me years ago, but it got lost until this past weekend." Deaton pulled a leather-bound book off the shelf and returned to his desk, handing me the book. I took in my hands; it was heavier than I expected. The binding was tearing and the pages were yellowed from age.

Shaking my head, I said, "Thank you so much. I'll read it after work."

"Actually, Scott can take your shift and you could read it right away. It seems important," Deaton said, winking at me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Scott. Before I asked, he answered, "You mentioned getting the bestiary from Deaton. I thought you would want to learn as soon as possible. If there had been a book for me when I first turned, I definitely would've torn through it."

"Literally," Deaton deadpanned. I jumped up and gave Scott a big squeeze.

"Thank you thank you thank you," I squealed. "You're the best."

"I know," he said. "You're welcome. Stiles is at his place, researching even after I insisted he wouldn't have to after you got your hands on this."

"Thanks, Deaton. I'll return it to you as soon as possible." He waved dismissively and I fast walked out of the building.

* * *

The drive was short to the Stilinski's and I felt Allison smile, giddy with excitement.

"Stop what you're doing!" I said as I swung Stiles's door open, expecting to find him hunched over his computer at his desk. My face lit up when I was welcomed by the sight of both Stiles and Isaac, surrounded by dozens of piles of research on his bed. Trying to hide my smile, I said, "Hey, Lahey. Whatcha doing?"

"I thought Stiles could use some help going through this coyote research," he answered. Isaac flashed a smile at me, before his face twisted in confusion. He checked his watch. "Aren't you supposed to be at work still?"

"Scott came by to take my shift so I could read the bestiary," I replied, pushing over some papers to sit between the boys. Placing the book gently in my lap, I opened it to the first page and started to read. After a few minutes, Isaac impatiently asked, "Anything interesting or important in there?"

I rolled my eyes. "It says that raven spirits are the most cunning and agile of the trickster spirits. They're more reserved, but sinister."

"So we should be threatened by you?" He said, smirking and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. Stiles moved to sit on his desk chair, stretching his legs onto his bed. I gently pressed my face into him and laughed and said, "Of course not. The book goes on to talk about how you can't turn a human into a raven."

Isaac narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It means that ravens are born in to the family. They're trained in hand-to-hand combat and start work on their abilities as soon as they can walk. I don't have that training," I said, lightly punching him in the arm.

Musing over what I just said, he asked, "So they stay together when the children are young. That brings up the question: how did you get separated?"

I shook my head at him. "No. More like why did they abandon me?"

"V. It sounds like they honored familial bonds. They wouldn't give someone up as powerful as you."

I shifted uncomfortably on the bed. Stiles noticed, swiveling himself around in his chair to look at me. "What else is in there?"

Turning the pages, I landed on one called _Abilities _and read,"'Ravens have a strong connection with the dead. Some see them walking amongst the living, others have the power of communication."

"Like you," Stiles commented. Allison mulled it over. Nodding, I kept going. "Only the most powerful ravens can summon spirits that have not passed whenever they'd like. But, there have been times when weaker ravens drew power from the full moon to do the same."

Isaac whispered, "Allison."

I moved out from under his arm. He said, "You can summon Allison. We can talk to her."

"Isaac. I'm a young raven who doesn't even know the extent of powers. I wouldn't be able to."

"But you could try," he pleaded, standing up to look at me.

"I would, but healing is physically draining; who knows how bad it could get from trying to enter the spiritual world? I could hurt myself, especially before I can even get to Kate."

"This is Allison we're talking about." I closed my eyes, completely turned away from him. "You should try. For Scott, for _Chris_."

That was it. Eyes still shut, I hissed, "You cannot guilt trip me into doing this, Isaac."

"Ver—"

My eyes snapped open and he jumped back. Taking control, I stood and quietly said, "No. You do not tell me what to do, werewolf."

"This could be good for all of us," he argued.

I knew he was getting ready, almost to wolf out, but I didn't stand down. I said, "I will not do anything I am not ready for. I can't do this yet."

"I-Isaac, man, you n-need to go," Stiles whispered behind me. "Now."

The werewolf stalked out of the room. Stiles put a hand on my shoulder and I turned to him, letting out a long sigh of relief. He hesitated before speaking. "Your eyes are black again. V, I don't feel safe."

"I'm sorry, Stiles. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I repeated, pulling away and collapsing on to his bed. When I looked back up, his face softened. "Is it gone? Are they gone?"

He nodded and picked up the bestiary. "I think we have more reading to do."

* * *

About an hour later, my head was resting in his lap and he lightly played with my hair while he read. "'After much training, skilled raven spirits are able to transform into their animal alter egos. They do not have a physical in-between state. But when angered or threatened, a raven's mind can turn.

They become ruthless creatures and unmerciful to the ones who wronged them. Because of such darkness consuming them, their eyes turn black and they move faster than any other animal or spirit. Anyone around a turned raven feels sick with worry that their life is in danger."

I groaned, rolling on to my side. "So I'm evil?"

"No. Darkness doesn't make you evil," He answered, pulling me up to look at him. His face was a few inches away from mine and we stayed like that. Just like that. Stiles kept glancing down at my lips. I self-consciously licked them. Allison whispered, "Go on now."

Before anything happened, my phone beeped. Stiles grabbed it off the nightstand and handed it to me, his fingers brushing my knuckles, causing hairs to stand on end.

_From: Lydia Martin  
__So you might hate me. But Danny asked me to Homecoming. He said it seemed like something we should do to sort of honor Aiden and Ethan._

"It's from Lydia. She's going to the dance with Danny. I guess it's not too bad with two couples in our group date," I said, shrugging.

"But it'll be you, me, Isaac, and Malia."

"Oh, right. You and your ex."

"Yeah, but I mean..." He said, trailing off. Stiles was worried about me and Isaac. Allison whispered in the back of my mind, "He's jealous."

I made a face at her in my mind and changed the subject. "How is she, by the way? She's been avoiding me."

"I think she's stressed lately. Her and Peter are working things out and I mean, you are a raven spirit. I thought you guys didn't get along."

Of course. "I'm such an idiot."

"You're not an idiot."

"I have to be. It didn't even dawn on me that she was avoiding me because it was uncomfortable for her, since our ancestors never got along."

_From: Lydia Martin_  
_Just told Isaac about the dance. He said he was asking Malia. Did you two get into a fight or something?_

I texted back:

_Let's say his inner wolf brought out my inner raven._

Stiles asked, "What did Lydia want?"

"We won't have to worry about the weird dynamic between the four of us at the dance anymore."

"Why?"

"Isaac's gonna go with Malia." My eyes watered a little at the words. He hugged me tightly and whispered, "It's gonna be okay."

"No, I know. I didn't even let myself have feelings for him because of Allison." I shrugged, feeling Stiles relax his body at my words. "I really have no reason to be upset, you know? I purposefully kept him at arm's length."

"Sometimes you can do everything right, but it's not meant to happen."

I tilted my head up. "Like you and Lydia?"

"Like me and Lydia."

"Are you gonna be okay with Isaac and Malia at the dance?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he said, nudging me, "especially if you'll be my date and distract me."

Pulling away from him, I whined, "Ew, I don't want to go with you."

"Oh." His expression saddened and the corners of my mouth twitched upwards. I rolled my eyes and said, "Stiles, that was a joke. I'll be your date, you goof."

A huge smile spread across his face and he stood up out of excitement. "That's great! It'll be great. I promise."

He started pacing in front of me, asking whether we should have a nice dinner beforehand or do something a little more extravagant. A dance was something Beacon Hills definitely needed. A little calm before the storm.

* * *

The next Tuesday afternoon, Kira, Lydia, and I found ourselves dress shopping. Once the school day had ended, we left in favor of the mall over lacrosse practice since it was my only day off in the week. Stiles and I decided on white, much to my inner raven's dismay. Black was a much more appropriate color for me. But it was a compromise I knew wasn't really a big deal. We'd already been out an hour, but none of us were falling in love with any dresses. Kira sighed out of frustration once we found a table in the food court. "What's up?"

"One dress. That's all I need. And I'm so tired already. How do you manage to do this, Lyd?"

She sat down and said, matter-of-factly, "Practice. Lots of practice, ladies."

"Have you guys picked colors?" I asked before I took a sip of water.

Kira shook her head and Lydia responded, "Danny and I are stuck between black and champagne. We can't all be like you and Stiles."

"You and Stiles?" Kira asked, eyebrows raised. Glaring, I said, "There's nothing between us. We're just going as friends."

Lydia smirked. "Does he know that?"

"I think so," I answered haltingly. "Besides, I have to think about you."

"Don't stop yourself on my account," she said, wrapping her hand around mine. "Maybe for a second there, I thought Stiles and I could have something. But then Aiden and Allison died. And I needed time. The timing was never right with us."

"Still."

"Look, if you like Stiles, I say go for it."

"Even if I did, which I'm not saying I do," I argued, "I don't need a boy right now. There's so much more important stuff happening right now."

The girls nodded in agreement. They knew I was right: I needed to learn how to control my powers before falling in love. It was the appropriate thing to do. But then Lydia asked, "Have you ever been with a boy?"

"In what way?" I asked with uncertainty. She let out a quiet groan and said, "I'm talking about sex, Veronica."

"No. I have kissed one guy on the lips and that was so many years ago. Since then, I've kind of been waiting."

Kira gasped. "What? But you kiss the boys on the cheek all the time!"

"The lips are a lot more magical than the cheeks."

"Depends which ones," Lydia retorted.

"Lydia!" I scoffed and swatted at her. Kira shrugged and said, "She has a point."

"Well, clearly, you have some reservations about sex. But, V, you and Stiles have something. I can see it."

I wanted to agree with her, but the face of a werewolf popped up in my mind. "But Isaac."

"What about the stubborn werewolf?" Kira asked, grabbing my water bottle from me.

"I thought there was something there. But whatever connection that was there between the two of us, it's gone."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was attacked, Isaac said he heard Scott howl and he came to us. But Scott didn't howl. Scott was in the woods, fighting a different werecoyote. He had no way of knowing that I was being attacked. I remember thinking about Isaac when that werecoyote was digging into my stomach and then he showed up and saved me."

"Maybe Scott did howl and you just didn't recognize it as a pack call?" Kira suggested. I shook my head.

"In the bestiary, there were pages devoted to the kinds of bonds ravens forge. They rarely connect with anyone but themselves. And wolves."

Lydia jumped in, twirling her hair. "In nature, ravens and wolves are symbiotic. Studies show that when ravens see carcasses left behind, they're very cautious before diving in. But if they are connected to a wolf pack, they eat immediately after."

"Yeah. That's how it works. Raven spirits and werewolves are known to have formed emotional tethers across time. And I think, unknowingly, Isaac and I bonded. Until we kept fighting about Allison."

"He really wants you to contact her without practice?"

"I think he does," Lydia answered for me. "I think it's for closure. But I'm worried about the state he's in. If you end up contacting her for him, he might get unstably attached."

"Exactly. I will do it when I'm ready and not a moment sooner."

Kira put a hand on my shoulder. "Do you think if you guys get past this, you'll fall for him?"

"No. Ravens and wolves don't fall for each other. They've tried, but their soul mates are either other raven spirits or humans."

"Another myth?" I gave a slight nod and Lydia stood up, changing the subject. "Come on, girls. Let's go find our dresses and wow _human_ Stiles in the process."

She winked at me and sauntered off, leaving the two of us to trail behind.


	10. War is Coming

**Author's Note: **_Disclaimer - _There's grinding in this chapter if some y'all are uncomfortable with that.  
Thanks to my beta, WalkingInAWinterWonderlandxx, as always! Much love to my readers and please leave a review if you have the time! Thanks, dears. 3

* * *

_"Are only going to a dance together. There's nothing going on between us."_

_"Right, of course." _

_"That's what Kira said." _

_She winked at me, conspiratorially, and changed the subject. "Have you and Isaac worked things out yet?" _

_"We work on our project around Scott and Kira and speak of nothing else. He wants me to try to summon you outside of our dreams and I'm not ready. I'm still learning how to control my turning." _

_"Do you have an anchor?" _

_"Myself?" _

_She shook her head. "No. Pick a better one, V. Even if it is Stiles." _

* * *

After work, I was sitting in my car, ready to go back to the Stilinskis', when my phone beeped.

_From: Chris Argent  
__Veronica, I need you to come to my apartment after work today. It's important. Derek will be here too._

I drove as quickly as possible to his apartment, which wasn't too far from the vet's office. As I parked, I silently wished to Allison that there wasn't some emergency. Derek's motorcycle was parked in the lot, glistening in the evening light. Mr. Argent buzzed me up and the two were sitting apart on his couch, clad in their almost-matching leather jackets.

"Hi, Mr. Argent, Mr. Hale." Derek stood and walked over to me, hand extended. I took it and he said, "I didn't get a chance to thank you for helping me heal before. For some reason, I wasn't allowing myself to."

"It was nothing," I said, shrugging it off. Then, mimicking the words I said to Isaac last week, Derek argued, "Take my gratitude. You deserve it."

"Thank you, Mr—"

"And call me Derek. The rest of McCall's pack does," he said in what sounded like a fatherly tone. Mr. Argent got up from his seat and walked over to the console table against the wall, reaching into the middle drawer.

Turning towards me, he said, "Scott and Isaac mentioned that you haven't been able to control your, um —"

"My dark side?" I offered. He almost rolled his eyes and said, "I was going to go with inner raven."

"Well, that's much kinder, Mr. Argent. Is that why we're here? To practice control or find an anchor?" I asked, gesturing to Derek. I started to wonder if Allison was also secretly communicating with her father.

"Call me Chris, please. And no, Derek will work on that with you next time. He's only here because the boys had lacrosse practice and I wanted to make sure you were protected." His eyes narrowed in frustration as he spoke. "But I wanted you to be prepared for tomorrow night. Kate hasn't attacked since the last time. By now, she'll know you're a raven and since your conspiracy isn't here yet, attacking you now is a smart move."

"Okay, so I'll have a gun on me tomorrow night," I commented, shrugging.

He shook his head and handed me a sheath. "You can't take a gun to school. But you can conceal a dagger."

"Thank you?" I said, hesitantly. Derek gave me a look. "I mean, I can't take a gun to school, but a knife is okay?"

Derek corrected me. "It's a dagger."

"You'll stick it in this and wear it under your dress," Mr. Argent said, holding up a garter to wear on my thigh. "Your dress is long enough, right?"

"Yes. It should be," I said, rolling my eyes and removing the dagger from the sheath. The blade glinted in the light of the apartment. Running my hand along the handle, I noticed that the Argent family symbol engraved into the handle.

He spoke slowly, watching me. "The blade's made of silver. It's been in my family for generations."

"Oh, I—" I tried to protest but he waved me off.

"You need it more than I do, Veronica. Allison and I adopted a new code, I don't need as many daggers on me. This is my way of protecting someone who can't protect themselves."

Tears started to form and I blurted, "I talk to Allison in my dreams. And sometimes she comments on my day in the back of my mind."

"Scott told me already," he said, gently putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Y-you're not mad? That I didn't tell you right away?" I asked.

"I don't blame you. Allison probably warned you about telling me. It's okay."

With my eyes closed, I nodded. "I wish I understood our connection, but I'm not entirely sure why it's so strong."

"There's an urban legend in my family that my ancestor once saved a raven spirit from a coyote. I don't know how much of that is true, but maybe it's an explanation," he said. Quickly changing the subject, he asked, "Do you know how to use a dagger?"

I shook my head. Argent shifted the handle in my hand, pointing the blade downward. "When you hold it like this, stab. Aim for the eyes, it'll serve as a distraction and possibly kill them."

"Wouldn't I aim for the chest or the heart?" I asked. Derek replied, "No, that wouldn't do anything against a werecoyote."

Turning the dagger the other way in my hand felt natural and I said, "If I hold it like this, how would I defend myself?"

"Swing your arm out, hopefully slashing their neck."

Argent commented, "Those are the basic tactics. Do your best to gain any advantage you can. Elbow them in the stomachs, knee them in the groins."

Familiarizing myself with the dagger for a few seconds longer, I placed it back in its sheath and Mr. Argent pulled me into a startling hug. I relaxed a little as he said, "Use the dagger and you'll be safe. Please be safe tomorrow."

This was what parental love felt like. Part of me knew that this was because of my connection with Allison and the other part felt guilty for enjoying her dad's affection. As unfamiliar it was, I needed it. Out of guilt, or sadness, I started to tear up at the thought, but Allison soothed me, saying, "This is perfect. It's perfect."

* * *

"Oh, you look gorgeous, Veronica," Melissa cooed when she saw me, leaning against the door frame. Scott and his mom offered his house for the four of us girls to get ready, while the boys got ready at the Stilinskis'. I thanked her, smoothing down the front panels of my dress. It was tiered and lacy and white: everything that shouldn't have worked on me but did. Lydia forced it on me and promised that if I hated it, she would let me pick her dress.

I glanced over at Lydia who was curling her hair. Instead of the multicolored, asymmetrical dress I had had my eye on, she wore a blush strapless dress with one layer of flower patterned tulle. She gestured for Malia, who found a sweetheart black dress covered in lace, to help curl the strands she couldn't reach.

"What do you think?" Kira asked, stepping out of the bathroom. Her hair was pulled into a bun on the top of her head, tendrils framing her face. Her dress was midnight blue with scalloped lace across her chest and hit just above her knee.

"Beautiful, Kira," I said. "I knew that dress would be perfect on you."

"What about you? Lydia nailed it with that dress and your french twist." I touched the back of my head, gently, where the strawberry blonde interwove flower pins into my hair.

The doorbell rang. Melissa got up and said, "Oh, there are the boys."

She headed downstairs. I started to follow, but Lydia threw out her arm in front of me, cutting me off. "No, we wait until they're crowded around by the stairs. Then we make our entrance. You last, V."

I laughed at the ridiculousness of her statement until she raised an eyebrow. I asked, "You're a serious?"

"Yes, V." I forgot that Lydia used to be amazing at pretending to be a stuck-up, snobby, vapid queen bee. But parts of her must have genuinely enjoyed the popularity and the perks, I know I definitely wouldn't have minded. I stood behind my three friends and watched them descend to their dates - Lydia doing it flawlessly - before following them. Stiles stood at the bottom of the stairs, face expectant, eyes connecting with mine. I smiled, taking small steps with my hand on the rail. But then my eyes flicked from his to Isaac's, who was giving me a gentle once-over, and I stumbled. Luckily, Kira and Scott had stayed close by and the alpha werewolf reached over and caught me.

"Thanks, McCall." I laughed. Stiles took me by the hand and led me to the living room, where Melissa took our pictures. When we were done, Isaac and Malia took our places. He pressed his hand against the small of my back, led me to the door, and said, "You look absolutely stunning in that dress."

"You're not so bad yourself," I joked, sending him a wink. His lips brushed my ear and he whispered, "I look better naked."

My body tensed at the thought of seeing Stiles naked. I licked my lips and turned my head to say something suggestive, but Scott cleared his throat. With a cheeky smile on his face, he asked, "You two ready to go? We have dinner reservations."

I felt my cheeks turn red at the attention. My date answered for me. "Yeah, let's have some fun!"

* * *

Kira, Scott, Stiles and I got to the dance first after dinner since Lydia and Danny wanted to take a shot of alcohol before entering the gym. We found a table the eight of us could all fit at and sat down. Stiles pulled his chair close to mine and draped an arm behind me. I shifted closer to him without thinking about it. His hand moved to my bare shoulder, tracing circles with his thumb. I almost shivered at his touch. Kira and Scott made their way to the dance floor, where "We Can't Stop" was blasting from the speakers.

Stiles and I stayed where we were, waiting for the other four. When they finally got to us, Lydia sent me a knowing smile and a wink. Danny gestured to the crowd and asked, "Are you gonna sit around or join them?"

He offered his hand to Lydia, who accepted it, and waited for us. Isaac and Malia gave each other a look and shrugged simultaneously before getting up to dance. Lydia winked at me again, then made her way over with her date.

I turned to my own and asked, "Did you want to dance already?"

"Not yet, I think I'm still digesting the food," he said, nervously rubbing the back of his head. Laughing, I patted his stomach, which wasn't bloated in the slightest. I raised an eyebrow. "Fine, I kind of wanted to spend some time alone before getting in the middle of the crowd."

"Thanks for asking me, by the way," I said, grinning from ear to ear.

"What? V. I asked because I really wanted to go with you," he said, defending himself. I placed my hand on his lower thigh and smiled.

"I wasn't questioning your intentions, Stiles. I was just thanking you," I whispered, biting my lip. Stiles gently brushed the back of his fingers against my cheek and cupped his hand around my face. I thought he would tilt my head up so he could kiss me easily, gently, but instead, he rested his forehead against mine and smiled.

I stayed like that for a few more seconds before pulling away. If he wasn't going to kiss me then, he'd have to wait a while longer. Grinning, I said, "Do you wanna dance now?"

Without answering, Stiles laced his fingers through mine and dragged me to dance along to "Timber." He stayed true to himself and put his hand on the side of his head, moving his elbow side-to-side admits a crowd of grinders. Lydia was next to me, laughing her head off, and shouted, "He can't be serious."

"I think he is," I yelled back, laughing just as hard. She nudged me in the side and said, "Show him how it's done, babe."

The genius disappeared back into the crowd, moving herself behind Stiles and effectively pushing him closer to me. He put his arms out, onto my shoulders, to steady himself. Just as he was about to move away and dance horrendously again, I put my hands over his and led them down to my hips, pulling him closer. We were pressed against each other and he had a look of confusion on his face. I smiled at him and turned around, our bodies melting into each other.

When I started to move and grind, he stiffened. I rested my head back onto his shoulder, wrapped a hand around the back of his neck, and touched my lips to his ear to whisper, "Is this okay?"

Stiles nodded, and said encouragingly, "God yes."

I danced more and soon he moved along with me, mimicking my movements and tightening his hold. He moved his hands forward, pulling me into him as much as he could. Our bodies rocked side to side and I threw both arms up and around his neck at every chance I got. The room got hotter and hotter as I shimmied against him, as he nuzzled his face into my bare skin. I whimpered, prompting him to kiss my neck over and over again. His hands moved up and down my sides with confidence; when he had enough confidence, Stiles's hand grazed my ass.

The songs blurred into each other and the bodies surrounding us didn't matter anymore. It was just me and Stiles and him and me and soon, I found myself throwing my head back to nip at his neck. He moaned softly. I moved my hand to his face, turning him to look at me, and his eyes filled with determination. He licked his lips and I leaned up towards him, but then the song changed, a ballad in the place of dance music.

Stiles's hands, still on my waist, turned me around and rested on the small of my back. We swayed in time with the music, but I feared the quietness of the song would give away the sound of my heart pounding in my chest. He was taller than me so I gently laid my head forward, touching his shoulder.

"Are you having fun?"

"I'm having so much fun, Stiles," I said, gazing up at him and smiling. My fingers caressed the back of his neck and our bodies relaxed. I looked around the room and saw Lydia dancing with Danny, giving me a thumbs up. Rolling my eyes, I adjusted my head against Stiles and found Kira and Scott, dancing closely. McCall and I exchanged smiles before smirking at me.

I sighed and looked back at Stiles. As the song started to pick up speed, he smiled and moved one hand from my lower back to my face. His fingers cupped my cheek and I tilted my head up, lips finally meeting.

But our kiss was cut short when Isaac's fist slammed into Stiles. He stumbled backwards and I wrapped my arm around him. Coach Finstock yelled, "Lahey, what are you doing?"

"Nothing," he said, shaking his hand out.

"Then fine. You're all kicked out. Get your merry band of misfits together and leave," Coach demanded. Scott groaned at the order and left to round up Lydia and Danny.

* * *

When we finally got all eight of us outside, I put my hand on Stiles's cheek and asked, "How are you feeling?"

There was a light shade of red where my hand was and it was definitely going to bruise over in the next couple of days. He whispered, while glaring at Isaac, "I felt better before getting punched in the face for no reason."

Scott said, "Isaac, man, what were you thinking?"

"I don't know."

This was ridiculous. But I needed to get rid of Danny before yelling at Isaac, so I said, "Look, Lydia, why don't you and Danny take Malia back home?"

Danny nodded for the three of them and they all got into her car. He said, "Be safe and try not to get into any more fights."

The edges of my lips quirked up as we watched them leave. I hissed, "Isaac, what is your problem?"

"My problem is that the two of you were kissing in front of Malia. Without a single thought in either of your minds that maybe it would hurt her."

Stiles jumped in. "You're concerned about Malia? I think you're jealous—"

"I hate to break up the lovers' spat," a voice whispered in the darkness, "but I have some work I need to get done that involves the little raven over there."

Kate. She stepped out of the shadows, with two others behind her, and we watched without a word. Stiles instinctively moved forward, his arm extended in front of me. My hand touched my thigh, feeling the sheath beneath my dress.

"Oh, that's sweet. The human thinks he can protect his girlfriend. Poor Stiles, don't you know that's your first mistake?"

Scott and Isaac wolfed out. The alpha barked, "Don't threaten him."

"I'm not," she whispered. "I'm threatening the raven. You should choose better friends though, Scott. She's got a dark side - an evil side - just like the rest of them."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"That's too bad," she said, turning her gaze to me. Her voice was honey sweet as she spoke. "Looks like this little pack is going to die in the crossfire and it's all your fault. Tell your flock they shouldn't bother coming. Because then, they'll die too."

When I opened my eyes, I felt my body go cold. I raised my head slowly, pulling the dagger out. Mockingly, she gasped. "Do you think you can take me down? I bet you can't even take down my betas."

Without moving, I said, "You guys should get away from here."

"I'm staying." Scott stood beside me but his voice was wavering. I turned to look at Stiles and Kira, whose bodies were frozen with shock.

"Go," I commanded. Under her breath, Kira asked, voice trailing, "Why do I feel so…?"

Stiles answered, "Yeah, that happens when her eyes do that thing."

The pair moved away and I glanced back at Kate's betas. The man to her right unleashed his claws and I cocked my head to the side. He lunged at me and I stepped to the side swiftly, dodging him. Behind me, Scott murmured, "How is she that quick?"

The werecoyote then tried to claw at me and I ducked under his arm to hit him squarely in the groin with my elbow. He stumbled backwards and before he could regain his balance, I swung the dagger across his throat. The other beta was already moving towards me. Flipping the handle around in my hand, I spun on my heel and jammed it into her eye. I removed it as she fell limp next to my feet.

With my eyes locked on Kate, she howled, calling another werecoyote to fight for her. In a hushed voice, I asked, "I should end this now while I still have the chance."

She laughed at my words and said, "Oh, little raven. We still have so much more time until I kill you."

Every step towards her was deliberate and slow; I gripped the dagger in my hand, my knuckles whitening. Scott warned, "V, don't do this now."

As I lifted the dagger in my hand, pointed towards her, someone tackled me down, knocking the daggers over to Scott. I rolled onto my back, Isaac still on top of me, and felt warmth flood back into my body. He got up and offered his hand, which I took. He touched my face, saying, "You can't do it. Not yet."

I barely heard him speaking because I was too busy looking down at the werecoyotes I maimed. "Oh my god. I-I-I can't believe I did that."

"See how dangerous she is, McCall? You can't trust her. She's too volatile," Kate said. "But don't worry, you won't stand a chance against my first beta. You definitely didn't the last time she attacked you."

We heard growling in the darkness and a familiar silhouette flanked Kate's side. She was dressed in black and had her claws at the ready.


	11. Real or Not

**Author's Note: **Sorry about the lack of updates! But here ya go, my loves. Let me know what you think!(:

* * *

_"See how dangerous she is, McCall? You can't trust her. She's too volatile," Kate said. "But don't worry, you won't stand a chance against my first beta. You definitely didn't the last time she attacked you." _

"Malia," Scott spat. "What are you doing?"

Without answering, she walked forward to stand beside her alpha, with a small smirk on her lips. She stood there solemnly, in her homecoming dress, and Allison whispered, "Lydia."

I snapped my head towards Stiles, who had walked back with Kira after Isaac tackled me, and mouthed "Text Lydia."

He nodded and subtly pulled his phone out of his dress pants to reach her. I was hoping I was the only one Malia hurt. Scott repeated himself. "What are you doing? With her?"

She opened her mouth, then clamped it shut, no doubt mocking us. But she tilted her head, considering indulging us and providing an answer, and put on a crisp smile. Kate commanded her gently, "Ignore them, dear. We're not fighting just yet."

"Why not?" I asked. A ghost of a smile danced onto her lips and in her honey sweet voice, she said, "No. We're outnumbered since you killed the pack members I brought with me."

That did it. In my chest, my heart screeched in pain and my body lost its heat again. As the anger swelled within me, I cast my eyes downward, back to the bodies at my feet. Allison's aunt noticed where my gaze had gone and took her chance to say, "Good thing no one will miss them."

But when I forced myself to send a withering glare to Malia, who was standing silently while Kate ran her mouth off, my heart pounded louder. Not out of fear, or guilt, but anger. She wasn't awkward around me like Stiles suggested, and it wasn't Isaac brought up, about her being uncomfortable because of our kiss. No. She was working against me. Against us. She attacked me and put me in the hospital. It was always her.

"Malia's been a good beta. She surprised me when she came to offer up her services. Apparently, the raven's growing position in your _little _pack was off-putting," said Kate, practically hissing. In the back of my mind, I calculated how fast I would need to move to get to them both. I was quicker than either of them, easily, when my dark side was in control. Getting ready to attack, I shifted towards Malia, about to take the first step forward. But Isaac preemptively gripped my wrist and I stayed by his side instead. He brought me back, warmth flooding my body again. I sighed and moved backward. "Kate, take your dead and leave."

She shrugged at my demands, dismissing them as mere suggestions, and opened her mouth, but Malia twitched, her fist uncurling at her side. Seeing this, Kate snapped her mouth shut. Instead, she picked up the woman, hoisting the body over her shoulder, and gestured for Malia to do the same with the man. Together, they carried their dead away from the parking lot. Away from me. Kate looked over her shoulder and snarled, "We'll come back for you. All of you."

Then they ran. My eyes focused on their backs, watching, until they were completely consumed by the dark. Voice quivering, I asked Isaac,"Why didn't they heal?"

"What?" The werewolf loosened his around my wrist and with a concerned look on his face, asked, "What are you talking about?"

"They were supposed to be healing. I'm almost positive," I said, turning to him while the words spilled uncontrollably out from my mouth. "Coyote spirits are known for their adaptability so their bodies developed a healing power, like werewolves. But those two weren't healing. They're dead, how? I don't—"

My voice cracked on the last words, completely breaking, and I crumbled into Isaac, who wrapped his arms around me. He rubbed his hand up and down my back, whispering into my hair, "It's okay, V. Sh, it's okay."

I relaxed a little but jumped at a noise coming from behind us. I pulled away from Isaac and saw that Stiles and Kira had come back closer to us. Stiles narrowed his eyes at Isaac and the bruise on his cheek was darkening. Pulling away, I looked at Scott and asked, "What did she mean no one will miss them?"

"I don't know. She must've found them or turned people with no attachments to anything or anyone," he said, walking towards me and Isaac. "Let's go to my house and cool down."

Nodding, I said, "I'll let Lydia know what happened."

Scott hung his arm around Kira's shoulders and headed towards the Jeep. Stiles and Isaac both offered their arms to guide me but I refused, walked over to the passenger door, and climbed in myself. The couple sat closely, cuddling, while Isaac got in next to them, leaning away and closing his eyes. When Stiles started driving, my eyes fixated on the darkness outside and I let my mind wander back to the dead werecoyotes.

Stiles reached over, placing his hand over my trembling one, and whispered, "What are you thinking about?"

"Kate's pack members," I said as he looked over at me grimly. "I killed them. And I know I didn't mean to and I wasn't in control, but this just gave me a reason to figure out how to control it."

He parked his car outside Scott's house and I yawned. This altered version of our pack needed to sit down and hash things out. Talk about Malia, Kate, me. Scott shook Isaac awake and sent him to watch over Kira in the house.

"We'll figure things out. But I don't think it's a great idea if we do this now, especially with you and Isaac fighting."

"Good call, buddy," Stiles said, nodding enthusiastically as Scott got out of the car. We got back on to the road, sitting in silence as I pressed myself as close to the door as possible. I cleared my throat, and said, "Stiles, Kira asked you why she felt so…something. And you told her it happened a lot when I turned."

"Yeah, yeah." He reached over and grabbed my hand, tightening his around mine. "I get scared. I know I shouldn't be, but I get so overwhelmed with fear. And when you look at us, your eyes - it feels like they're digging into mine."

After a few moments, once he got the Jeep parked onto his driveway, I finally answered, "That gives me even more reason to learn."

"Come on," he said, hurrying me into the house and out of the cold. I pointed out his dad's car wasn't outside, and Stiles muttered something about the late shift with Deputy Parrish.

We made our way up to his room quickly, silently, together. He picked a few things to change into in the bathroom and left. I reached into the laundry basket by his bed, grabbing my spandex shorts and one of Stiles's comfier tees. I slipped out of my dress and when I was finally ready for a relaxing sleep, Stiles knocked on the door. "Are you decent?" Laughing, I said, "I am, I am."

"I was thinking we should talk," he said as he practically sauntered in to his room and planted himself on his bed. Bewildered, I leaned against his desk, and replied, "We will. You heard Scott, tomorrow is better."

"What? Oh, no. No," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I, uh, I meant about us. You and me."

"Me and you?" I crossed my arms over my chest and looked directly at him. He had a sheepish look on his face and he said, "I mean, we kissed."

"Barely," I said, rolling my eyes. But I stopped when his eyes filled with confusion. I explained, "Isaac broke it up before anything real happened."

Shit. He choked out, "Real? That kiss wasn't real? What about the hand holding or the dancing or anything? None of that was real?"

"No, no. It was, Stiles. All of it. But—" Shit shit shit.

"So what you're saying, V, is you don't like me like that."

"No, what? I - I am not saying that. But it doesn't matter if I do." His face fell. "Because of Isaac?"

Uncrossing my arms to run my hands through my hair, I denied his accusations, "Stiles! There is a war going on, I don't exactly have the time to choose between you and Isaac."

"But—"

I cut him off, hands gesturing wildly and my voice raising. "I might die, Stiles. And I get the whole 'we don't know how much time we'll have left' thing, but if Kate hurt you because of me, because I stupidly acted on my feelings for you? I would go crazy. I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready for any of this."

Stiles gripped his neck again, scratching lightly, and I could see his skin turning red. "I thought—"

"Yes? Please tell me where your mind's at." I sat down next to him on his bed, placing my hand on his knee for reassurance.

"V, I watched Scott lose Allison without ever telling her how he felt still. He might've been moving on with Kira and her with Isaac, but it was devastating to watch my best friend go through that. Losing his first love," Stiles said. His voice started to break and I wanted to reach out and hold him but I kept my hand where it was. "And it was my fault that she died, V. My fault."

"It wasn't—"

"No, no. The point is: I don't want to lose you. And I don't know if there is an us, but I want you to know that I never wanted to pressure you into anything. You're going through a lot," he said. I could see it in the way his eyes were crinkling at the corners: he was remembering the nogitsune. "You don't know what you could do next, what that part of you is planning. People get hurt when you're not in control. Like Allison. Like those werecoyotes."

My body acted separately from my mind and I found myself wrapped around Stiles, practically on top of him. I nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck, whispering, "I'm sorry. We'll get through this and then talk about us. One step at a time, okay?"

"Okay." Then we fell asleep like that, with me holding him or him holding me or holding each other or something. It felt like everything was okay, or would be okay. The two of us were laying down like nothing else was happening outside. Worried, but together.

* * *

_Ally and I were sitting at our spot in the woods. She was swinging her legs, listening as I recounted Homecoming night, about Kate and Malia. Her eyes widened and she breathed, "Malia betrayed you?" _

"I wouldn't say 'betrayed' since we weren't close to begin with. Honestly, I'd feel worse and a lot more surprised if Kate had used Stiles or Lydia against me," I said, shrugging. "Using Malia just felt so predictable."

Allison pulled her legs up onto the table, tucking them beneath her. "I know what you're saying, I get it. But she's been feeding information to Kate. Do you know what exactly?"

"I don't. I know Malia was probably the one who told her I was a raven and that a gigantic flock of ravens is coming to Beacon Hills to attack her."

She corrected, "Conspiracy." I rolled my eyes at her and she ignored that as usual. "It's part of your heritage, V. Be proud. But what we can be sure of is that Kate is building an army."

"Maybe," I said, agreeing with her suggestion.

"But one that the ravens can kill. If they're anything like you, they're deadly."

I shifted uncomfortably and pushed off the table. Ally covered her mouth, "I'm so sorry. I know—"

"I did it with my hands," I whispered, "They didn't even get a chance to fight."

"You couldn't control it. Your spirit sensed immediate danger; you all could have been badly hurt."

Absentmindedly, I paced around the table and said, "If Isaac hadn't pissed me off right before, I probably wouldn't have turned as quickly."

"What?" Oops. I hadn't mentioned that, or the kiss.

"Isaac hit Stiles."

Her eyes widened. "Why?"

"Because Stiles kissed me for two seconds. Isaac claimed it was because we were making Malia uncomfortable. Which could be true." Slapping me across the chest, she shrieked, "You and Stiles kissed and you didn't tell me?!"

"I'm sorry, I thought the Kate thing was more important."

She pulled back to recollect herself. Taking deep breaths, Allison smiled and said, "You're right. You're right. Was it good?"

I nodded. "Did you want more?" I couldn't hide the blush creeping onto my face. "You did!"

"Maybe. But we cleared everything up already and agreed to take things slowly until after this trickster spirit war. You know, if I don't die."

"Whatever, you guys will be good together. He'll be your anchor." Before I answered, I zeroed in on some rustling in the trees. There were never any noises from the surrounding area, it was always the two of us. Allison's eyes followed me as I took a few steps towards the hiking path. "V? Nothing's ever in there. It's just a dream, Veronica."

"There's something in there," I said, leaving her at our spot and making my way into the woods.

Even though there was very little light streaming through the branches, it wasn't too difficult to see. I closed my eyes and heard the rustling again, this time above me, moving through the sequoias' leaves. I watched three black creatures reveal themselves and fall from the tips of the trees to my feet. "Ravens."

They fluttered towards me, fluffing their wings. The one in front I presumed was the leader and they locked their eyes on mine. I bent down, hand slowly extended and it - her? - jumped and landed on my wrist, chirping. Suddenly, black smoke appeared and swirled around us. I couldn't see anything but I felt the raven leave me, crushing the leaves beneath it. The crunch of dried leaves was louder than before and echoed throughout the forest.

Finally, the smoke cleared and I saw a woman and two men, head-to-toe in leather, in place of the ravens. The woman stood in front, the men clearly meant to serve as backup. Their hands hovered over the weapons attached to them. They stared at me, their brown eyes full of what might have been respect. But that wouldn't be right.

Her eyes, on the other hand, were almost black, naturally, and her hair, shoulder-length and choppy, moved gracefully in the breeze. Her red lips curved into a smile and she opened her mouth to speak. "Veronica."

"Who are you?" I asked, making her smile falter. I thought I saw water well in her glimmering eyes, but she blinked whatever it was away and tried again. "Hello, Veronica. You're so grown now."

That didn't make any sense. "H-H-How do you know me?"

"That doesn't matter. Tonight, you killed two werecoyotes. To ease your mind, I thought you'd like to know that they weren't innocent. They were murderers who attacked our families. Your families."

"I don't have a family," I said, coolly. The woman's pitch black hair fell in front of her face, masking her grimace at my words. She pushed it out of her face, exposing a small, star-shaped scar just beneath her right eye.

"You do, in us. We're coming to you, to save you."

"How soon?"

"We were meant to come a week before the solar eclipse. But it seems we need to come sooner. We'll be there in one week. To train you, my dear."

I retorted, "I have a trainer."

"Yes, the Hunter of the Argent clan. His family has served us well through the centuries, with a few exceptions," the man - he had a ponytail - behind her grunted. "The only ones who can train you to reach your greatest potential are the only ones like you."

"Like you?"

"We are your family."

"You are not my family. I have no one except my pack."

"Yes, your 'pack' which consists of two werewolves, a human, a banshee, a kitsune," the other one spat, "and a traitorous werecoyote."

My body went cold. I lunged at the man but the woman stopped me, clutching both of my wrists. "Veronica, we are the only ones you can trust."

"That's a lie. I can the Hales, my pack, Chris Argent."

"Chris Argent, whose sister is the cause for this war, Veronica. He is the worst person to trust." I struck her across the face. I said, "They've been there for me more than you ever were."

The whole of her eyes turned black, and I knew she using her powers. I shivered involuntarily and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Her voice was even as she spoke, "Maybe they have been. But without us, you'll never learn how to be in control. And if you're not in control, Veronica, you will kill more people. Innocent people."

Images of the werecoyotes lying on the parking lot asphalt and bleeding out flashed in my mind. Purposely, deliberate. There was the man clawing at me. Or jamming the dagger into her eye, slashing him across the neck, veins bursting, blood splashing. Blood. Howls. Too much, it was too much. I looked at the woman, wondering how she was doing this, and she smirked. I started to scream, bending back down to the ground and clutching my ears.

_She leapt towards me, her two men clamped their large hands around her wrists and pulled her back before she could reach me. She shouted, "Veronica—"_


	12. I Am Not the Danger

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the wait, but finals got in the way! Well, I'm out of school so hopefully I can give this story the time it deserves ^.^

* * *

By the time Stiles and I got to the McCall's, Lydia's car was already in the driveway in place of Melissa's. He leapt out of the Jeep and I opened the door, ready to get out, but I didn't. Stiles walked around his car and offered his hand. Noticing my hesitance, he asked, "What're you thinking?"

I smiled meekly and shrugged. "I'm worried about Malia and Kate and…Isaac."

His jaw tensed but Stiles squeezed my hand anyway and pulled me out. "It'll be okay, don't worry. Everything will work out, it has to."

"Since when are you not the cynical, sarcastic one?" He threw his head back in laughter as we walked, and answered, "I guess when you showed up."

Stopping at the door, I shot him a quizzical look. "What?"

"I don't know if you know this, but you are quite cynical, V. We didn't need more people being unhelpful." I chuckled at his response and we walked into the house. Lydia was lounging on the large couch, practically glowing, with her hair neatly braided into a casual up-do. I envied her for a quick minute, especially because her and Danny had actually gone to an after party as opposed to sleeping like the rest of us. On the love seat was Kira, clad in a leather jacket and skinny jeans. Stiles and I dropped down next to the strawberry blonde as Isaac and Scott bumbled down the stairs, both with bed-head.

Isaac sat on the armrest by Lydia and his alpha fell into the seat beside Kira, yawning. "So we're all here. Again."

"Yeah," Lydia said, her voice small. "Only if Allison were here." She closed her eyes, clearly wishing, wanting. Isaac's face was solemn and Scott disappeared a million miles away. But I felt her near me, with us, listening as she always did. How it was possible for her to be getting stronger in our world, I didn't know. But if this were like every other night at our spot in the woods, she would be nudging my side with her elbow, telling me to do something about her friends.

I cleared my throat and said, "Actually she's here right now." One of them asked,"How do you know?"

Shrugging, I replied, "I can feel her presence."

"What do you mean?" Isaac asked. His face remained unchanged, unaffected by my words. I could see glimmers of sadness in his eyes though.

"We have a strong connection. Lately, I can feel her near me or hear her in the back of my mind. Her spirit is either getting stronger in our world or I'm getting more powerful."

"Probably the latter," Lydia commented. Her lips, bubblegum pink, turned into a smile, the shine of her teeth peeking out. I knew Allison would smile back just as brightly. "But I'm glad to know that she's around more often. Watching over us."

"Yeah, it is," Scott said, coming back to us, eyes still glazed over a bit. We sat in a comfortable silence, no one wanting to ruin the moment. But we knew that there were emergent matters to attend to and Scott finally broke it. "Last night was ridiculous."

Lydia straightened her back. "V texted me everything, but I still don't get what the hell happened with Malia."

"I was just about to ask you that," I said, facing her. "Did she seem off in the car?"

"She acted like she usually did. We dropped her off at Peter and Derek's," she said, brushing a few strands of hair from her face. "Imagine if the three of us stayed with you guys."

"It's good that you didn't," Kira said. "Less of a chance of you or Danny getting hurt. I mean, Malia, Kate, and the other two werecoyotes? I didn't have my katana in the car either so it would've been a lot worse."

Lydia nodded. "But I still can't believe Malia betrayed us."

"I'm not," Isaac said, shrugging at her and Kira's surprise. "She's a werecoyote. Her loyalties were never with wolves."

"I hate to agree, but he's right," Stiles offered. "Allison told us coyotes hated wolves."

"Then it was smart of Kate to approach her."

Shaking my head, I said, "No way. Kate told us Malia went to her. Ravens and coyotes don't get along."

"But how would Malia know that?"

"We told her. We've been feeding her information."

Before Lydia had a chance to argue, Stiles groaned. "This is all my fault. I'm the one who kept updating her whenever she wasn't around."

"Hey, I'm pretty sure I kept telling you to."

He stood, frustrated, and shoved his hands in his pockets. "But I'm the one that told her we were going to see Argent."

Lydia asked, "But why would that matter to Kate?"

"She wants my head, remember?"

"No, I understand _that_. I meant, why would that have mattered to her then? We didn't know you were a raven until I found it after you were put in the hospital." Her words stirred Allison and she remembered something I'd mentioned I read in Deaton's bestiary. I murmured Allison's thoughts, "What if she already knew what I was?"

Someone asked, "How?" But instead of answering immediately, I started to dig into my bag. I pulled out the bestiary, skimmed through a few of the pages, and finally found what I was looking for. Lydia read, "'_Coyotes, whether in their human, partial, or full forms, are able to sense the presence of a nearby conspiracy. In extremely rare cases, they can catch the scent of a single raven._'"

Scott said, "So what? She came to town, initially looking to take down werewolves, caught scent of a raven, and changed her plan? Actually, that's plausible."

"So it wasn't my fault?" Stiles asked, looking down at the two of us.

Isaac grunted. "Not everything is about you, Stilinski." Ignoring Isaac, I reached for his the tips of his fingers and said, "It was never your fault. We kept updating Malia who gave everything to Kate that she needed to push my buttons. We all trusted her."

Scott smiled meekly and removed his arm from around Kira. Clasping his hands together and leaning forward, elbows on knees, he said, "But we do need a plan to stop her. Or punish her."

Stiles immediately left to the kitchen, muttering something about exes. Lydia peered at me questioningly and I said, "I know it's for the good of the pack, but we'll let him sit this one out." I moved over to the side of the couch, Lydia followed, and Isaac plopped down next to her.

"What do we do about Malia?" Kira asked. Scott moved his arm from around her, touching her knee gently. If I studied him closely, there was defeat crinkling underneath his eyes. He said, "I don't know. Any ideas?"

"Attack her?" Lydia suggested and he shook his head no. "I don't think we should do that yet."

She snapped, "She betrayed us all. And she wasn't possessed by a dark spirit like Stiles was. This was her choice."

"But that could provoke Kate," Kira pointed out. Isaac groaned and I shot him a look. He said, "Who cares?"

"I don't want you guys in unnecessary danger," I started to say, "but according to the bestiary, there's a reason why Kate isn't attacking until the solar eclipse." Lydia handed it back to me. I read, "_'On the solar eclipse, every trickster spirit that draws its powers from the moon will be at their most powerful.'_"

"Okay, fine," Kira argued, "but how do you think Kate will react if we kill her first beta? With a cake and a treaty? She might not attack us, but she'll send someone to."

"We'll do it fast, get Kate too while we're at it." I groaned audibly without meaning to and every single one of them was eyeing me warily. Throwing my hands up, I blurted, "What? It's just like Isaac to do something so impulsively. Like punching someone at a dance instead of dealing with it appropriately."

Across from me, Kira's and Scott's jaws dropped and Lydia, perched on the edge of the couch, shifted nervously between us. From the corner of my eye, I saw Isaac's fists clench and I knew his eyes were yellowing. Lydia and Kira exchanged nervous looks and the latter's boyfriend coughed uncomfortably. One of them clapped their hands together and said, "I'm gonna pick us up some lunch."

The girls jumped up and headed towards the door. The other werewolf glanced at the both of us, still tensely sitting apart. His voice hit a higher octave as he shouted, "Wait for me!"

I pursed my lips and Isaac grumbled beside me, one hand gripping the armrest. "What the hell was that, Veronica?"

Shrugging, I stated, "You know exactly what that was."

"God, V. Way to be _mature_," he spat, his claws digging in. I tried to keep my breathing even, but my temperature was dropping rapidly. He scanned my face and growled: I knew I turned. Instinctively, my back straightened out, my right leg crossed over the left, and my eyebrows raised. I said, smirking, "Careful there. Don't wanna ruin Melissa's furniture, werewolf."

Isaac stood, about to lunge, but I shook my head no. "I'm sorry. That was rude. I should've just punched you instead."

"I told you, it was about—"

"Malia?" I finished for him, finally standing up. I brushed my hands on my jeans and answered, "I know. But I'm calling bullshit, Lahey."

"There it is again. Stop being a cryptic bitch, Veronica." It should've stung, it should've hurt, but it didn't. Allison gasped for me but I couldn't muster up any offense.

"Ouch." He glowered at my sarcastic remark. "I enjoy calling you out on your bullshit. You punched my - Stiles." I started to say "my date" but using his name felt more harmful on my lips. Isaac scoffed. "Your what? Boyfriend?"

"No," I said simply. "And even if he was, you had no right to punch him."

"So if he's not your boyfriend, what are you two?" I swore I saw his face soften at his words but I had no reason to point that out. Instead I watched as he took a few steps towards me.

"That doesn't concern you." I crossed my arms over my chest. Suddenly I realized our bodies were inches apart and it took every bit of control I had not to pull out the dagger concealed at my hip. Or kiss him. My eyes quickly dropped from his lips to his hands, checking to see if his claws were still extended. They were.

"So you are."

"I didn't say that," I corrected him. He narrowed his eyes. "Just tell me if you are."

"Why do you even care?"

Behind me, someone cleared their throat. We both turned towards the stairway and saw Stiles. If my raven was all out, he had to have fought the sickening feeling that swelled in his body. He said, "He's jealous, V."

I stared Isaac down and he growled in response. "Maybe I am."

"Why?"

"Because I felt something with you. And you think you belong with a _human_," he spat at Stiles. Isaac looked at me, almost pleadingly. I stayed like that, hints of warmth creeping up my skin, until Stiles coughed. When my eyes met his, I could see fear; I snapped back to the werewolf and I didn't understand. Stiles was terrified, I was full-on Raven right now but Isaac, Isaac wasn't.

Stiles whispered, effectively bringing me back from my thoughts, "Come back to me, V. Please." I didn't answer him right away, instead speaking to Isaac. "He's more than human, Lahey. But that's not the point. The point is, it's not your concern because there is so much more going on that I don't have the time to pick between you. At least he understands that."

"Looks like you already made a decision."

"As if you told me you were a choice."

"Why would I have to tell you?" He growled louder this time. "I could hear whenever your heart picked up around me."

I glared at him and smacked my lips. "Stiles voiced how he felt. He owned up to his feelings. You did nothing."

He shouted, "I saved your damn life."

"And I am so grateful for that, Isaac. But that doesn't mean I owe you anything romantically," I said. "But you pleaded with me to risk my life so I could try to summon Allison and you could talk to her." His eyes flicked upwards at the front door and lingered and I knew the other three were back.

Isaac grimaced. "No, so all of us could have one final goodbye."

"But you didn't care if I got hurt."

"Is that why you've been avoiding me? Because I put Allison before you?"

"I don't care that you put her before me. It makes sense, okay? I get it. I'm never going to replace her and I don't want to." My voice cracked. "But I didn't want to get involved with something that big. Especially with people trying to kill me."

"But you and Stiles—"

"We're not anything," Stiles said without even giving me a chance to argue back. Isaac's body visibly relaxed and I glanced over my shoulder at the three pack members hovering in the corner and tried to offer a smile. But instead of a reassuring smile both Kira and Lydia stepped back in fear and Scott's claws appeared at his side.

"V, control yourself."

"I'm trying."

"Are you sure? Because every time this happens, you scare the shit out of us and make us sick to our stomachs."

Kira reached out to him, warned, "She's trying her best, Scott."

"Then get help from Derek or me."

"It's not the same, McCall. You're a shifter, you need an anchor. I'm a spirit that's only tied to death in this world.

He flashed his canines at me. "You are putting us all at risk, V."

"I am doing my best to control it, Scott. See? I'm not attacking you, am I? You're not in danger right now."

Scott's eyes flashed red. "But I feel threatened right now. You need to control it, your power, because I can't put my pack in danger."

"Fine, kick me out. My conspiracy is coming in one week. They'll train me and protect me. Unlike you," I spat.

"What?"

"They understand that I need the right kind of training to defeat Kate. They're only ones that can train me."

"Why are they coming?"

"The incident with Kate made them realize I need help."

"You can trust them?"

"I have no one else to trust."

"Us. We're your family."

"Are you? Because you'd rather kick me out at my weakest than help me get stronger. Kate is trying to kill me and you're about to feed me to her."

"That's not—"

I smirked, crossing my arms again. "Tell me, Scott. Do you want to be on the losing side or mine?"

"Ver—"

"Because for anyone who gets in our way, I make no promises."

He lunged at me, and I drew my dagger, but Isaac moved to stand between us. I slammed into him, warmth immediately pouring into my heart. I trembled at the sight of my hands, dropping the dagger, and whispered, "I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry."


End file.
